Second Chances
by LMELMK-1970
Summary: This is a Liason-centric Fic. It's about how Emily's death brings Jason and ELizabeth closer and how Ric would do anything to stop that from happening. Reviews and feedback are always welcome.
1. Losing Emily

Second Chances: Losing Emily  
  
~*~* Hello everyone.this is my first GH fanfic ever so please be gentle. I haven't been a GH fan that long.but long enough to know that I see a great deal of potential between Jason and Liz. So since the writers won't give me what I want I thought I would do it myself. :o)  
  
Here's the story setup.. Emily is dying ** and in my story she won't be making a miraculous recovery** Courtney and AJ are still happily married. Liz knows what Ric has done to Carly and she's written him out of her life even though he hasn't taken the hint just yet. The story begins with the scene with Jason and Liz in the chapel discussing how they will live their lives without Emily. I hope you enjoy and please reviews and feedback are greatly appreciated.  
  
Lisa  
  
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Jason let out a heavy sigh as the door to Emily's room closed behind him. He gazed through the glass window as Zander claimed the chair he had just vacated. He watched as the man he once despised caressed his sister's hand so lovingly.  
  
Stoic Jason tried to focus on anything but Emily's last question. 'How do I make my dying all right for them?' At the moment he couldn't even recall the answer he had given her moments before since he was asking himself the very same question. How was he supposed to go on without Emily in his life? Just then Monica and Alan rounded the corner with grim faces. Jason listened as they recounted how Emily's badly compromised immune system was now causing the rest of her body to slowly shut down as well. Monica choked back her sobs not wanting to say out loud what the three of them already knew - Emily was dying.  
  
Jason wasn't able to stay there any longer. He couldn't look back through the glass window at his sister. He couldn't offer any support to Monica or Alan even though he knew they desperately needed it. Jason didn't know how to do that. He didn't know how to deal with the pain that ripped through his heart. No physical pain he had encountered in his life had ever hurt like this. Without a word to either of them Jason turned and made his way down the corridor.  
  
Before long he found himself standing before the hospital chapel. Jason rested his hand on the swinging doors and wondered given his laundry list of sins if he should even be there. He pushed that thought to the back of his mind and made his way inside. The chapel was dimly lit and the candles flickering in the votives made red reflections on the walls and ceiling. Absently Jason lit a candle of his own. He wasn't sure if it was out of some forgotten instinct or something else but did it just the same. He slumped down in the first pew and stared straight ahead not really seeing anything around him. Instead his mind concentrated on his sister Emily, how much he loved her and how his heart ached already and she wasn't even gone.  
  
Jason leaned forward and let his hands cover his weary face. Ever since they had faked Sonny's death his life had been in perpetual motion and finally in the stillness of the chapel it all came crashing down around him. Before he could let himself succumb to the tears that threatened to spill from behind his ice blue eyes, he felt a hand gently touch his shoulder.  
  
Jason turned to see Elizabeth standing behind him shedding the tears he wished that he could.  
  
"Can I sit?" she asked her voice barely above a whisper. Jason slid over giving way a place for her. "I just talked to Monica and Alan. They said things aren't looking good." Jason only nodded for he didn't trust his voice. "How do I say goodbye to my best friend?" Elizabeth wondered aloud as her voice dissolved into another wave of uncontrollable sobs.  
  
Instinctively Jason wrapped his arms around her and pulled her body against his own. Easily Elizabeth let herself melt into the warmth she felt there. It was like suddenly all of the ugliness that had been between them was gone. It was as though her issues with his lies about Sonny's "death", Ric's horrendous acts against the people that Jason loved the most, none of that mattered anymore. All that mattered was that they both were losing one of the most important people in their lives.  
  
From outside the chapel door, Ric Lansing watched as Jason Morgan cradled Elizabeth, his wife, in his arms. The rage inside him roared. He had lost nearly everything to Sonny and he wasn't about to lose his wife to Jason without one hell of a fight. 


	2. She's Gone

Second Changes: She's Gone  
  
Thank you to all those who have read this story and sent their reviews. I've send it before and I will say it again.reviews and feedback are the life's blood of a writer (at least this writer). I want to stress again that I'm a new GH watcher and didn't get to see Liason in their budding relationship so I hope I do them justice.  
  
Thanks again for reading. Lisa  
  
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Jason and Elizabeth sat in a comfortable silence in the confines of the hospital chapel. Suddenly it felt right their being together. Neither knew if was just because of the grave situation of Emily's condition or if it was more and neither wanted to question it at the moment. There was already far too much to deal with without adding anymore confusion to the mix.  
  
Ric watched from his perch outside the chapel and fumed as his wife laid her head gently against Jason's shoulder and in turn he caressed her hair with his hand. Ric clenched his jaw and swallowed his anger as he tried to keep his reactions in check. Just before he could storm in and demand to know what was going on the over head intercom sounded with a code blue message. It was for Emily's room. Ric slid out of sight as both Jason and Elizabeth rushed from the chapel and headed toward ICU.  
  
Elizabeth and Jason rounded the corner and saw nurses and doctors streaming into Emily's room. They both stopped cold when they noticed that Alan was cradling a sobbing Monica in his arms and Zander standing with his hands pressed against the glass window as though he was trying to still touch the love of his life. A cold shiver ran down Elizabeth's spine and the hairs on the back of Jason's neck stood on end. Were they too late, they both thought silently?  
  
"Monica?" Jason was the first to speak. He didn't need to say anything more. Everyone understood his silent question. None of the three could meet his steely gaze and that was all Jason needed to know.  
  
Elizabeth's eyes darted between those standing outside grieving and Emily's room. She felt her breathing quicken to the point that she was about to hyperventilate. It couldn't be true. Emily couldn't be gone. Her friend had been so full of life. There was no challenge that Emily Quartermaine wouldn't accept, no impossible task she wouldn't undertake. In the back of her mind, Elizabeth truly believed that her friend would find a way to beat this, beat the cancer. In the end it wasn't even the cancer that had stolen her from them it was a complication of it. Elizabeth felt as though the world around her was about to swallow her whole. She could hear her heart beating in her ears and the sounds around her were merely a garbled mess that she couldn't decipher. She reached for the wall to steady herself and just as she did Jason took her in his arms. He had been watching her reaction the whole time. It helped him to focus on her rather than his own feelings that he didn't know how to deal with.  
  
Ric again watched as another man, one of his sworn enemies, took care of his wife. Something that he had wanted to do for himself. He knew how much Emily and her friendship meant to Elizabeth and could only imagine what hell she had to be going through. His heart ripped into a thousand pieces as he looked on as Elizabeth cried into Jason's shoulder. He couldn't let this happen. He couldn't let Jason Morgan steal his wife. Without thinking he stepped out of the shadows and made his way to where they were.  
  
Immediately Jason was defensive. "Get out!" He said his voice was steely cold.  
  
"Elizabeth, sweetie, why don't you let me take you home?" Ric said completely ignoring Jason's order. He almost sounded as though the things that had transpired in the last several months hadn't happened at all and that Elizabeth and he were still a happily married couple.  
  
Jason put himself between Elizabeth and Ric. Protecting people had been his job for so long now the action was a natural reflex, yet somehow this had a different feeling for him. "She's not going anywhere with you." The memory of the panic room that Ric had held Carly in for months popped into Jason's mind. The idea that he was going to steal Carly and Sonny's child and claim it as his own had rage seething inside of him.  
  
"I think that's for Elizabeth to decide," Ric said arrogant as ever.  
  
Before he stopped to think, Jason had Ric by the throat with his back pressed hard against the plaster wall. He enjoyed watching him struggle beneath his grasp.  
  
"Stop it!" Elizabeth grabbed Jason's free arm and pulled him toward her. "Jason, stop it!" By now Jason's actions had the full attention of Alan, Monica and Zander. "Ric, just please go. There's no place for you here." Elizabeth turned her back on him and led Jason into Emily's room which was finally no longer filled with nurses and doctors.  
  
Ric stood alone in the corridor. Alan, Monica and Zander had gone their separate ways in attempt to deal with the loss of Emily, while Ric was dealing with a loss of his own. While he couldn't believe it Elizabeth's cold eyes told him that he was as dead to her as Emily was. He let himself take one last glance at his wife and Jason as they talked quietly alongside Emily's bed. "This isn't over, Morgan." 


	3. Lending Support

Second Chances: Lending Support  
  
I want to thank those of you that have been reading and reviewing. I have so enjoyed working on this story. I have tried hard to stay in keeping with the characters and hope to have done that for all of those reading. Please keep those reviews coming..they inspire me to write all the more.  
  
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Jason heard the knocking on his penthouse door but he chose to ignore it. He knew that it was Carly again wanting to talk and really he just wasn't up for it. In a few hours he was expected at St. Michael's Church for Emily's funeral. He had so many mixed emotions about going.  
  
"Jason," Carly's voice seeped through the thick wooden door. "Jason, please open up." She pleaded.  
  
"Go away, Carly." Jason's own voice said solemnly. She almost spoke again but thought better of it, which surprised even her. She rested her hand on her protruding belly and headed back to her own penthouse. She knew that losing Emily was a great blow to Jason. She knew that no matter how he tried to hide it he was hurting inside. All she wanted to do was help her best friend but she was at a loss as to how to do that.  
  
Jason pulled out the black leather chair from beneath the desk and sat down. He opened the middle drawer and retrieved the family photos he had hidden there. He eyed all that represented a life he couldn't even remember. They, Monica - Alan - Edward, wanted him to be the person he was before the accident, yet he couldn't. AJ, well he and Jason hadn't been brothers in a very long time. The only people who accepted Jason Morgan had been his grandmother Lila and sister Emily. They had been able to look past what they wanted and accepted what he could give them. Jason was grateful for that even though he hadn't said so often enough. He had lost that chance with Emily now. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the rise and fall of his chest - anything as to not cry. He couldn't recall the last time he cried. He claimed not to know how but today that emotion came flooding back. Jason shook his head as though he were trying to rid himself of those feelings the doctors claimed so long ago he could no longer have. It wasn't working. The longer he looked at Emily's smiling face in the photo the larger the lump in his throat grew. Absently, he reached for the phone that sat on the desk and dialed Elizabeth's studio. He didn't know what made him do it, he just did. It only rang once before he replaced the receiver back in its cradle.  
  
He pushed himself away from the desk and walked across the room to where his pool table sat. He racked the balls and took his anger and frustrations out on the cue ball. With a loud crash the colored balls skated across the dark green felt. Many made it into the various pockets of the table but Jason could have cared less. His mind was centered on Elizabeth. He smiled despite myself as he remembered trying to teach her how to play pool. Part of him knew she was just humoring him and that she could play better than she let on but he enjoyed it just the same. Frustrated he threw his stick onto the table and stared out over the skyline of Port Charles.  
  
Again he found his hand dialing Elizabeth's number but this time he let it ring through. He had a deep need to talk to her. He needed for things to be the way they used to be when they could tell each other anything. Jason wasn't sure if they could ever go back but right now that mattered very little to him. He just knew he needed her and somewhere in the recesses of his brain he knew she needed him too.  
  
'Hi, you're reached Elizabeth Lans..Webber,' Jason heard her correcting herself on her voice mail message. Even the faintest mention of the name Lansing had Jason seeing red. The way he had strutted into the hospital yesterday and attempted to take Elizabeth home still made Jason's blood boil. How he wished the Sonny would just give him the order to dispose of him. When the case against him fell through, which didn't surprise Jason in the least bit since Scott Baldwin couldn't argue his way out of a paper bag, he was sure that Ric was a to never be heard from again. And Jason would have taken great pleasure in disposing the world of the likes of Ric Lansing. 'I'm not available right now but if you would leave a message I will get back with you as soon as I can.' Jason didn't bother leaving a message.  
  
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Ric stood in the shadows across the street from St. Michael's Church. He watched as nearly all of Port Charles filed in to pay their respects to Emily Quartermaine, but there was one person in particular he was waiting to see. He was waiting for Elizabeth to arrive.  
  
Lucky, Nikolas and Elizabeth exited the Cassadine limo. Elizabeth and Lucky had stayed on Spoon Island the night before reminiscing with Nikolas about their friendship with Emily. The four of them had grown up together and even though their lives had taken them in different directions in times of trouble they came together. None of them could believe that she was really gone. Each of the three wanted to believe this was all just some bad dream that they soon would wake from, even if in the back of their minds they knew they wouldn't.  
  
Both young men put their arms around Elizabeth for support since they knew while the funeral would be difficult for them it would be unbearable for her. She welcomed the assistance for suddenly she felt as though she couldn't take one step inside. Off in the distance she heard a familiar roar. In all these years she hadn't forgotten that sound. It was that sound that carried her away when she needed to be free from Lucky's ghost. It was that sound that carried her grief filled screams into the wind. It was the sound of Jason's motorcycle.  
  
Elizabeth turned around and saw Jason coming to a stop before the church. As he took off his helmet it was easy for her to see how tired he looked. "I'll be right in," Elizabeth said to both Nikolas and Lucky. Reluctantly the pair headed inside as she made her way down the concrete steps to where Jason stood.  
  
Ric watched and waited.  
  
Gently Elizabeth reached for Jason's hand. "I know this is a stupid question," she hesitated, "but are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah." His remark wasn't a complete lie. He was much better now that she was there.  
  
"You ready to go inside?"  
  
"No." The anguish that Jason tried to disguise in his voice was all too evident to Elizabeth. She clasped his other hand in hers and kissed him gently on the cheek.  
  
Ric seethed as he looked on.  
  
Jason took the opportunity to let his powerful arms envelop her. It amazed him how strong she was being. He knew how much this was killing her yet there she was trying to comfort him. "Thank you," he whispered.  
  
Hand in hand the two of them walked into the church as Ric Lansing calculated his next move. 


	4. The Funeral

Second Chances: The Funeral  
  
Thanks to all of you who have responded so favorably to this story creation of mine. All of your positive feedback has made writing this even more enjoyable. I hope that you all enjoy this next chapter..I assure you there is more to come.  
  
Lisa  
  
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Elizabeth liked the way Jason's hand felt resting in hers. Briefly it brought back all those memories of the times they shared before she had so foolishly walked away from him. Yet as she looked ahead at the casket the reality of what her life was now suddenly came collapsing around her.  
  
Elizabeth's steps faltered and Jason turned to look at her. He could see the tears pooling in her deep blue eyes as her gaze rested solidly on her best friend lying in among the satin folds of the coffin.  
  
"Elizabeth," he whispered.  
  
"I'm fine," she returned with a faint smile.  
  
Jason had wanted nothing more than to guide her to the pew with him but he couldn't help but notice Carly's hard stare. He knew what she was thinking. Jason always knew what Carly was thinking. So rather than make everyone anymore uncomfortable than they already were, Jason guided Elizabeth to where Lucky and Nikolas were sitting. Both of them stared deeply into the others eyes. It was easy to see that neither wanted to let go of the other. Finally Jason made the first move to take his seat. Elizabeth held onto his grasp until their fingers were barely touching. Jason looked back as she sat between the two men and he pressed down the bit of jealousy that he had watching both of them easily drape their arms around her. He moved forward and took his place to the left of Carly and Sonny.  
  
Once the congregation was focused on the front of the sanctuary, Ric took a seat in the last pew as the service began. He was relieved to see that Elizabeth and Jason were sitting separately. He knew that he wouldn't be able to contain himself if they had been sitting snuggled together.  
  
The service was a beautiful one. It was as beautiful as Emily herself was. She looked as though she was sleeping peacefully with a sweet smile across her features. Those that loved her the most were still in a state of complete and utter shock, disbelief even. The minister began the service with Psalms 23:1. "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever."  
"Today we are here to honor the life of Emily Quartermaine." The minister continued. "While she was taken from us too soon her life gave many great joy and love..."  
  
Jason glanced back to where Elizabeth was sitting. He saw the tears silently fall on her cheeks as the minister spoke of Emily. He felt his own eyes grow damp as members of his family stood and shared their memories of his sister. He had wanted to do the same yet there was a part of him that couldn't. He watched as Zander stood before the group and recounted the great love that he and Emily shared. How she had saved him from himself when no one else had cared enough to even to know him.  
  
Again Jason looked at Elizabeth. He had felt very much the way Zander did in terms of Elizabeth. No, she hadn't saved him in the manner in which Zander referred but she had given him back something he hadn't ever expected to have. She had given him the ability to love again, even if he hadn't had the nerve to express that to her. He wondered if his not going after her the day she left his penthouse when it was revealed that Sonny was indeed alive and that Jason had known all along had been the right thing to do. Ever since that day his world hadn't been right. He wondered if she had felt the same.  
  
Lucky and Nikolas were now standing before the group speaking about their childhood friend. Elizabeth's sobs became audible. Each cry that Jason heard made him want to go to her more than the last.  
  
'To hell with it," he thought to himself as he got up from his seat and walked back to where Elizabeth sat alone. Instinctively he captured her in his arms and again she felt of sense of being exactly where she belonged. They sat that way for the remainder of the service.  
  
Ric grabbed the pew before him hard enough to make his knuckles turn white under the pressure. He clenched his jaw as his breathing came out in hard fast bursts. He felt his life spiraling out of control. Nothing had turned out the way that he had expected or wanted but he had always been able to hold fast to the idea of winning Elizabeth's love back. He wasn't going to let Jason Morgan ruin that for him. Elizabeth Webber had been the one good thing he had found in Port Charles and Ric wasn't ready to let that all die.  
  
Jason and Elizabeth sat quietly as the funeral patrons made their way from the chapel. Neither was ready to leave.  
  
"Jason," Carly reached out to touch his shoulder. "Why don't you come home with us?" she asked eyeing Elizabeth carefully. Carly was still unsure of how to feel about Elizabeth Webber/Lansing. She knew that it had been Elizabeth who had been instrumental in her being released from the panic room but that still didn't negate the pain she had caused Jason before. Carly was well aware of how much Jason had been hurt by her inability to understand the role he played in Sonny's "death". The last thing she wanted was for him to be hurt again by someone Carly felt was beneath her friend.  
  
Jason looked at the people he regarded as his family now. He could see how badly they wanted to help him deal with this but he knew that they couldn't. Both Sonny and Carly had liked Emily but their relationship with her had been through him only. "You two go."  
  
"Jason.." Carly began but Sonny cut her off.  
  
"Carly, let's go. Jas man, you know where we are." Sonny rested his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Elizabeth," Sonny nodded toward her.  
  
"Sonny." She felt extremely awkward talking to both of them. She would forever carry the guilt of what Ric, her husband, had done to them. She hated herself for how naïve she had been about it all.  
  
"You okay?" Jason asked when Sonny and Carly were finally gone.  
  
"I just feel.so.." She stumbled in search of the words to express how she felt.  
  
"They don't blame you." Jason said as if he were reading her thoughts.  
  
"How can they not? I lived in that house for weeks while Ric held Carly captive and I didn't have a clue, Jason!" Anguish filled her voice.  
  
"Ric played you. He knew exactly what he was doing." Jason's voice turned stone cold the minute he mentioned Ric Lansing.  
  
"What does that say about me?"  
  
"It says you are a loving, trusting person." Jason reached for her hand.  
  
"No it makes me a fool," she corrected him.  
  
It killed him inside that Ric had been able to make Elizabeth doubt herself. In all the time they had been friends she had never doubted herself. It was just one more reason for Jason to want to wipe Ric Lansing from the face of the earth.  
  
"You're not..." Jason began  
  
"WAIT!" Elizabeth's frantic voice covered his words. She scrambled to the front of the church just as the funeral staff was about to close the casket. "Wait," she said again. Suddenly the thought of never seeing Emily again hit her like a brick wall and she dissolved into a fit of hysterics. Jason rushed to the front of the church also as she was about to collapse onto the floor.  
  
"Shh.shh," he murmured as he rocked her gently in his arms. Elizabeth clung to him as she had never done before. She felt as though he was her last link to her friend. She knew that Jason loved Emily as she had and it felt right to be there in his arms.  
  
"How am I supposed to get along without her?" she sobbed into his shoulder.  
  
"I'll help you, Elizabeth." It was Ric's voice that brought silence to both of them. "I'll help you, sweetie," he said again reaching out offering her his hand. Jason promptly pushed it away.  
  
Without a minutes hesitation Jason had them both on their feet never relinquishing his hold on Elizabeth. "Help her? You mean like how you helped her into the hospital?" Jason said as he recalled visiting her when Ric botched his attempt at keeping her from getting pregnant. Elizabeth nearly died. Jason tightened his embrace.  
  
"She's still my wife," Ric said knowing how lame those words sounded as they left his mouth. To any onlooker it would appear that Jason and Elizabeth were the married couple not them.  
  
"Not for long!" Elizabeth finally spoke. Being there with Jason gave her the strength she needed. "I filed for divorce, Ric."  
  
Those words cut him deeply.  
  
"Lansing!" Sonny's voice bounced off the high chapel walls. "You have the nerve to step foot in here again?" This was the very place that he had taken Carly from. She had been there to discuss the having the newest Corthinthos baptized and he had chloroformed her and whisked her away to the panic room.  
  
"Sonny..." Carly stopped in mid step. The sight of Ric brought everything back for her. Her eyes darted between her husband, best friend, the man that had held her hostage and his wife.  
  
"Carly, go to the car," Sonny instructed.  
  
"What's he doing here?" she asked ignoring the directive.  
  
"Carly go!" Sonny was more forceful this time. He wanted his wife no where near his lunatic brother even if both he and Jason were standing in the room. "MAX!! Get her out of here."  
  
"Elizabeth too," Jason said walking her toward where Carly stood.  
  
"Jason..."  
  
"Please just go with them." He knew that was the last thing she wanted to do and he was more than sure that he would never hear the end of it from Carly but he needed to know that Elizabeth was safe. He couldn't concentrate on what was going on around him with her so close.  
  
Both women let themselves be guided from the church by Max, Elizabeth looking over her shoulder the whole time as Jason and Sonny closed in around Ric. 


	5. Confrontations

Second Chances: Confrontations  
  
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone :o) I thought I would post the next chapter before everything gets too crazed here at my house..hosting the holiday festivities. Thanks again to all of you who have passed along your comments to this story. It means so very much to me that you all are enjoying it. I hope this is just the beginning on many more GH fics to come.  
  
Lisa  
  
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Ric strained to see Elizabeth as she left the church with Max.  
  
"Stop looking at her!" Jason ordered coming to stand directly before Ric obscuring his view. It was unlike Jason to let his words and actions express his feelings. It could have been the stress of Emily's death or just the hatred he had for Ric Lansing that had him dropping his steely mask.  
  
"She's still my wife," Ric countered knowing that that short sentence drove Jason Morgan crazy.  
  
"What the hell are you doing here?" Sonny finally spoke.  
  
"Paying my respects to my wife's best friend," Ric said most sincerely.  
  
Jason felt his blood boil in his veins at the audacity the man before him possessed. He stood there acting as though all his offenses against Sonny, Carly and Elizabeth never happened. He acted as if he was innocent of it all. Maybe it was because for all of his crimes there had never been any punishment that led Ric to act and feel the way he did. If it had been up to Jason, Ric Lansing's exit from this world would have been full of every minute of torture he had caused those that Jason loved.  
  
"Do you have a death wish?" Sonny smirked.  
  
"Should I?" Ric returned with his own cocky smile.  
  
The brothers stood within inches of one another starring eye to eye. Ric was confident in the knowledge that his elder brother's love for their mother would provide him the safety net he would always need. Sonny was far too concerned with family to ever kill his own brother, his mother's son. He thoroughly enjoyed this ability to twist that knife.  
  
"Yes," Jason said from his clenched jaw. He knew he had over stepped his bounds but his anger had gotten the better of him.  
  
Ric cocked his brow and gave his brother a questioning look. "He speaks for you now? I thought you weren't capable of any thoughts except those that Sonny put in your mouth." He turned and looked at Jason as he continued speaking. "Funny Elizabeth never mentioned your ability for free thought, either." Ric watched as the mention of Elizabeth's name evoked a fire behind Jason's ice cold eyes.  
  
"I don't ever want to hear you say her name." Jason barked as he clenched his fists at his sides. "You are the monster that let Faith poison your own wife!" Carly had recounted to Sonny and him how Ric hadn't believed her when she had told him what Faith had done. It was just one more thing in the long list of offenses Ric had perpetrated against the woman he claimed to love so dearly.  
  
"What's the matter Morgan? You can't really think that Elizabeth is falling for this grieving soul act of yours?" Ric questioned in his own taunting way. He was well aware of Jason's feelings for his sister. She had been the one Quartermaine that still kept him even remotely tied to that family. "We all know your damaged brain can't feel ANYTHING!" Ric stressed that word. "At least Elizabeth knows when I tell her I love her it's more than just words someone taught me to say."  
  
Jason had had enough and with Ric's last remark he lunged at him wrapping his hands securely around Ric's throat. He hadn't felt this much anger surge through him since he had woken up from the accident and couldn't wrap his mind around what he was supposed to feel.  
  
"Jason..JASON!" Sonny tried his best to put his body between the two men. "Jason, man STOP! Look at where we are." Sonny gestured to the hallowed walls that surrounded them. "This isn't the place for it."  
  
Suddenly, Jason's head snapped back and Emily's open coffin came into view. He was mortified at his actions. In her life he had always kept his business away from her but in her death he was doing the exact opposite, yet he couldn't discern if this wasn't more personal than it was business. He dropped his hands from around Ric's neck and left the church without looking back.  
  
"Jason," Sonny called to his retreating back. "Jason!" Sonny called to his friend as he glared at his brother. "This isn't over Ric," he said in a menacing tone.  
  
"No it's not." Ric concurred as Sonny walked out of the church in search of Jason.  
  
Sonny made his way outside just in time to see the red taillights of Jason's motorcycle heading off into the distance. "Damn," he muttered as he looked back inside St. Michael's. Ric was gone. Sonny descended the stairs to where his limo sat. It comforted him to at least know that his wife and Elizabeth were safe within the confines of the penthouse. They had guards with orders to shoot Ric Lansing on sight if he dared set foot in the building.  
  
That order had been the hardest one that Sonny had ever given. He had to protect his family - would do anything to protect Carly, their unborn child and Michael but it pained him still to know that that order would kill his mother's other son. If he had known where Jason might have gone Sonny would have had Marco follow but since he didn't he headed home to wait for him instead.  
  
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Elizabeth climbed into Sonny's limo after Carly. The two women sat quietly during the ride to the Corinthos penthouse. There was no love loss between them. Carly had made it perfectly clear that she would never accept Elizabeth in Jason's life. Elizabeth hadn't cared about what Carly thought but she did know that it made things difficult for Jason from time to time.  
  
Elizabeth sat wondering and worrying about what was happening back at St. Michael's. She recalled Jason's reaction to Ric the day in the hospital corridor and could only imagine what might happen next. There was a part of her that wanted Ric Lansing dead. She no longer wanted to have to wait for him to pop up out of nowhere and beg for her love and forgiveness. She didn't want to have to be reminded of how foolish, stupid even, she had been for believing one lie after another that he told.  
  
It frightened her that she wished another human dead. In all the times she had tried to wrap her mind around what Jason's job was for Sonny and couldn't, suddenly having Jason act on his boss' orders for offing Ric Lansing didn't seem all that bad. In the last several months she had come to a greater understanding of the bigger picture of life. No longer did she see things in such a black and white manner. She finally understood the grays that Jason had always been trying to get her to see.  
  
"Ladies," Max said as he opened the door for them to exit the limo.  
  
"I'd like to go to my studio." Elizabeth didn't want to be in Sonny's penthouse with Carly anymore than Carly wanted to have her there. Not to mention that Elizabeth just wanted to be alone with her memories of the past - Emily and Jason.  
  
"Mr. Corinthos and Mr. Morgan asked that you stay here until they arrive." Carly groaned at Max's remark.  
  
"This isn't negotiable is it?"  
  
"I'm afraid not." Max smiled weakly. He recalled how much Elizabeth never liked the guards and not being free to come and go as she pleased.  
  
"Fine," she relented and followed them to the elevator.  
  
Immediately upon entering the penthouse Carly headed for the stairs. Elizabeth was relieved. She wasn't up for being grilled Carly style. And she also didn't want to have be forced to look at the woman her husband held hostage right under her nose. Jason said that they didn't blame her but she couldn't believe that. In her mind how could they not? She knew that she would have if she had been in their position.  
  
Elizabeth made her way to the mantle adorned with photos. Some were of Bobbie and Lucas, Michael, Sonny and Carly, but her eyes rested on the one of Jason. She wasn't able to take her eyes off of it. Absently she lifted the frame from its resting-place. How could she have ever walked away from him? They had just found their way back to one another and rather than letting Jason explain she threw it all away. She claimed not being able to trust him but look where she ended up - with a man who claimed to love her yet lied to her at every turn.  
  
"Put that back." Carly's voice interrupted Elizabeth's thoughts.  
  
"Sorry." Quickly she returned it to its place on the mantle.  
  
"You think that being sorry is enough?" Elizabeth knew that Carly's question had nothing to do with the picture frame she had been holding.  
  
"I don't know what else to say," Elizabeth admitted honestly wishing that there was some way for her to make up for what Ric had done all in the name of his great love for her.  
  
"You don't know what to say? Now isn't that a first?" Carly spouted in disbelief. "Up until you found me chained to a wall you had lots of things to say. You couldn't do anything but sing your husband's praises. All the while he was playing you for some fool."  
  
Elizabeth knew Carly had every right to her anger. She even understood it but that didn't make it hurt any less.  
  
"I was wrong about Ric." Elizabeth whispered.  
  
"WRONG!" Carly nearly shrieked. "You could have used that excuse the first dozen times we all tried to tell you what a sick bastard Ric was but that doesn't wash anymore."  
  
"I know Carly. I know. I can't change any of that now. What do you want to hear from me? How stupid I was? How naïve? How blind I was to all of the strangeness going on right under my nose?" Elizabeth's voice rose with each question. "I was all of those things Carly and more. I was stupid to believe that he had changed. I was so eager to believe that my love was enough to change him that I let it blind me. I'm sorry that you got caught in the cross fire of my mess." Elizabeth wholeheartedly meant those words of apology knowing full well that Carly Corinthos would never accept them.  
  
Carly did feel sorry for the girl standing before her. She had watched what hell Elizabeth had endured at the hands of Ric. She knew that he had been the master manipulator but right now she couldn't see past the terror that he had inflicted on her. "You think a mere apology is enough to make up for me being chained to a wall for months? You think that it can just take away the fear that Michael endured watching Ric drag his mommy away? You think that just an 'I'm sorry' from the miss perfect Elizabeth Weber is going to fix it all? You think that it makes up for me almost losing my baby?" Carly yelled resting her hands on her belly.  
  
"I lost my baby!" Elizabeth countered with a similar yell. "You think that this is easy for me? You think that I want to look at myself every day and know what a mess I have made of my life? Don't you think that I know what I walked away from?" Elizabeth's voice escalated to a feverish pitch.  
  
"You lost your chance with him!" Carly said knowing who Elizabeth was talking about. "You'll never get it back. You think that since you can share grief over Emily's death that you can have him again - YOU CAN'T! He's not going to love you! No one's going to ever love you Elizabeth!" Carly's hurtful words stung and brought a new rush of tears to Elizabeth's eyes. She had no comeback for them her only instinct was to flee the penthouse and in doing so she ran smack into Jason's chest. 


	6. Heartache

Second Chances: Heartache  
  
WOW - is all I can say to the last several reviews. I think I hit a soar spot when it comes to Carly. Not sure if that's good or bad but I hope that you all will continue reading and reviewing. I want to thank LiasonFan for my first Liz/Jason tape. I watched all 6 hours straight through and am now more certain than ever that Elizabeth and Jason should have been given the chance to be a couple on the show. Well here's the next chapter and I will keep them coming on a steady basis. Feedback is always appreciated and welcome.  
  
Lisa  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jason heard the raised voices from inside Sonny and Carly's penthouse. He shook his head wishing that for once Carly could have just left well enough alone. Before he knew what hit him in her rush to exit the apartment Elizabeth nearly knocked him off his feet.  
  
"Hey," he said grabbing her by the arm as she tried to rush passed him. He saw the tears streaming down her cheeks. Jason sent a glare in Carly's direction who in turn feigned ignorance. "Elizabeth?" he questioned.  
  
"Let me go. Please let me go." She did her best to wrestle herself out of Jason's grip. All Elizabeth wanted was to be as far away from there as possible. Carly's spiteful words rang in her ears. How many times had Elizabeth thought those same things - the things that Carly had said? That no one was ever going to love her.  
  
"Elizabeth, wait," Jason said as he closed the door to the penthouse and followed her toward the elevator where she was frantically pushing its buttons. "Elizabeth." Jason put his own hand across the plate and forced her to look at him. Her tear stained face tugged at his heart. "What happened with Carly?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"Elizabeth, nothing doesn't make you cry and run out of the room."  
  
She looked into his crystal blue eyes and wanted to tell him all the horrible things that Carly had said to her. Yet how could she? So many of them were right on the mark. She had lost her chance with Jason. Carly was right about. She hadn't just lost it she had basically thrown it away. And there was no one to blame for that but herself. Everything that had happened after that - Ric, the panic room, thinking that her love was enough - she was to blame for all of those things.  
  
"Elizabeth." Jason's voice implored her to talk to him. He wanted nothing more than to scoop her up in his arms and carry her into his own penthouse. He wanted to pretend the last months had never happened. He wanted to go back to the way things had been before. "Elizabeth, what happened?" He brushed his thumb against her cheek and wiped away the last remnants of her tears.  
  
"Nothing. I just want to go home."  
  
"I'll take you." He offered.  
  
As much as Elizabeth wanted that she couldn't let herself get too attached to Jason again. In the back of her mind she had to wonder if like Carly said they weren't just clinging to one another in the wake of Emily's death. "I'll just get a cab." She countered.  
  
"I don't think that's such a good idea." The idea that Ric could be lurking around any corner fueled Jason's thoughts.  
  
"I'm quite capable of getting home by myself." Elizabeth almost stopped herself as she said that. She had to wonder if she was capable of that? Since the reveal of all that Ric had done while she sat back without a clue had her questioning herself.  
  
"I know you are. I just thought that you might like the company." Jason went out on a limb saying that.  
  
"I just want to be alone." She turned away as she spoke. Being alone was the last thing that Elizabeth really wanted but she said it just the same.  
  
Jason resisted the urge to push her. He wished that she would have told him what happened between her and Carly. He knew that that was the reason for this sudden need to run from him, again. "I understand, but there's no need for you to take a cab. I'll have Max drive you home."  
  
Elizabeth almost protested but when she looked into Jason's eyes she found herself agreeing. "Thanks," she said.  
  
"No problem. You know you can call me anytime." It sounded more like a question than a statement and Elizabeth nodded her response. She suddenly didn't trust her voice. "Goodbye Elizabeth," he said as the elevator doors closed on her and Max.  
  
Jason pulled his cell phone from the pocket of his leather jacket and summoned Francis to his side. Quickly he gave the man orders to discreetly begin following Elizabeth Webber. Francis was to report back to Jason on the generalities of Elizabeth's life but more importantly if Ric Lansing came with in fifteen feet of her. Francis departed with his assignment as Jason went to get to the bottom of what had gone down between Elizabeth and Carly.  
  
"Jason!" Michael ran to greet the man who once he had thought of as a father.  
  
"Hey buddy." He smiled as he tousled Michael's mop of red hair.  
  
"I'm really sorry about Emily."  
  
"Thanks buddy. I need to talk to your mommy. You think you could go upstairs and play in your room?"  
  
Michael looked at Jason with a long face. "Do I have to?" he whined a little.  
  
"Michael," Carly began. "You do as Jason said and daddy and I will take you to the park later."  
  
"YEAH!" Michael didn't waste anytime bounding up the stairs yammering about what he and his parents would do at the park.  
  
Jason waited until Michael was safely out of ear shot before he addressed Carly. "What happened with you and Elizabeth?"  
  
"What did that little twit say to you?" Carly was immediately defensive.  
  
"Nothing. She wouldn't tell me anything. But I know that something happened. So what was it?" He pressed.  
  
"Nothing." Carly repeated Elizabeth's response.  
  
"Yeah - like I believe that. She practically ran me over she couldn't get out of this place fast enough. What happened Carly?"  
  
"Well you know how I feel about her Jason?" she began.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"She's just going on about how sorry she is. How she never really knew Ric at all.."  
  
"Don't forget Carly he had you fooled for a long time too," Jason interjected.  
  
"Yeah but at least I wised up!" Carly shot back.  
  
"You know as well as I do Carly, you even said so yourself that Ric played Elizabeth to the hilt. He's good at what he does. You can't blame her for his crimes."  
  
"Why can't I? Yeah so he played her Jason was she completely blind to what was going on around her?"  
  
"You know Carly I can't debate this with you. What happened to you - what Ric did was cruel and if I had my way he'd have been eliminated by now but.."  
  
"but what Jason?" Sonny's voice came from behind them.  
  
"I'm following your orders, Sonny." Jason said stoic. It was hard for him to look at his boss/friend. The exchange between he, Sonny and Ric at the chapel was still fresh in his mind. Ric's taunting stung and Jason wanted nothing more than to elevate his frustrations in the way that Sonny had taught him to. It was such a contradiction for him to suddenly let a man considered an enemy live.  
  
"Carly, I need to speak to Jason alone."  
  
"I told Michael we would take him to the park. I'll go up and get him ready." Carly left the room quietly. She was thankful that her conversation with Jason about Elizabeth was over. She knew that even for her she had been cruel to Elizabeth and while Jason had been right about everything he said she still wasn't able to get past the fact that Elizabeth had lived in the house while she was held captive there.  
  
"Jason, about what happened at St. Michael's.."  
  
"It's fine Sonny," Jason said.  
  
"No it's not fine." Sonny was frustrated by the quandary he felt he had put himself in. Before him stood a man who by all rights was his brother. He has stood by him, watched his back and saved his life more times than Sonny could count but the man that was his brother by blood had done nothing but try to ruin his life and still he couldn't find a way to eliminate him. "Ric's a sick bastard. What he said about you back there.."  
  
"What Ric says makes no difference to me."  
  
"I know.."  
  
"You know Sonny I can't say that I understand why you let Ric live, but I won't go against your order. Just know that I won't let him hurt anyone else." With that said Jason turned and headed for his own penthouse. He wanted to place a call to Francis to be sure that Elizabeth was safe at her studio.  
  
Sonny watched as his best friend walked away from him. He wanted to give Jason what he needed. He wanted to give the order to remove Ric from the equation, yet every time he thought he could do just that the memory of his mother came to haunt him and again Sonny sat on the idea of removing Ric. He walked over to the crystal decanter and poured himself a glass of scotch and prayed that this one weakness wouldn't cost him his friend. 


	7. Pleadings

Second Chances: Pleadings  
  
I hope there's still an interest in this story since I have been sort of MIA with it for a while now. The holiday hub bub of RL is getting in the way at the moment. I hope to have more posted of this story soon. As always reviews are appreciated and welcome.  
  
Lisa  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
For several days now Elizabeth hadn't left her studio. Bobbie graciously gave her a few days off knowing that facing Emily's death would be a tough one for her. At first Elizabeth had been grateful but as the days wore on with nothing to occupy her time but her own thoughts she was going a little stir crazy.  
  
She looked at the phone that sat across the room. 'You know you can call me anytime.' Jason's words sprang to her mind as they had done a dozen times on a daily basis since she had gotten into the elevator at Sonny's penthouse. Again, she resisted the powerful urge she had to lift up the receiver, dial the number and ask to see him. Yet with each passing day in solitude, it became increasingly more difficult. The reminders that were strategically placed around her studio weren't any help either. She wasn't sure if she had done it subconsciously or purposely but her painting - Jason's painting - of the wind sat on the easel by the window.  
  
How much she wanted to be on the back of Jason's motorcycle. The wind rushing past them both swallowing up the grief that consumed them. As Elizabeth concentrated intently on the painting she knew deep down that her need to be on the back of that bike had much more to do with her need to recapture something with Jason she's wished she'd never lost than it did dealing with the grief of losing her best friend. Elizabeth wrapped her arms tightly around her chest and staved off another on coming wave of tears she felt threatening to spill from her eyes. She had cried so much in the last weeks she was surprised that she had any tears left.  
  
She got up and walked to the sink and looked at her reflection. "How did I get here?" She asked the person that looked back at her. "How?" She questioned again with no response - not that she expected one. She didn't have an answer. Elizabeth turned on the water and bent her head down to splash cold water on her face. It helped a little but it didn't remove the thoughts and feelings dancing around in her head.  
  
She made herself a cup of tea and sat down the sofa with her sketch pad and charcoal pencil and began to let her mind wonder. Before she even realized what she was drawing the outline of Jason's face appeared across the once blank page. "UGH!" She sighed exasperated with herself. Quickly she dressed and went for a walk hoping to clear her thoughts.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Ric watched as Elizabeth exited her building. He was careful to keep his distance as to not alert her of his presence.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Elizabeth rounded the corner and walked through the iron gates of the Port Charles Cemetery. She wound her way on the stone paths until she came to Emily's grave. She knelt down in the fresh dirt and let her fingers gently run across her friend's name engraved in the pink marble. "Hey Em." Her voice caught in her throat. "I need your advice - don't I always?" Elizabeth joked as though Emily Quartermaine was standing there in front of her. "God, how did I make such a mess of things, Em?" She asked that question once more still getting no reply.  
  
Ric looked on as Elizabeth began to cry. He edged closer to her so that he could hear what she was saying.  
  
"I feel like such a fool. I was a fool. Emily, you were so sick that I couldn't tell you what was really going on. I couldn't tell you what I found out about my husband." Elizabeth ran her thumb across her wedding ring. She hadn't realized that she was still wearing it. She recalled the night that she and Ric were married. What promise their lives held or at least that's what she had thought at the time. "This wasn't how my life was supposed to turn out Em. I wasn't supposed to be on my way to divorce court."  
  
The words divorce court sent daggers through Ric's chest.  
  
"I really wanted loved Ric. I wanted the life he told me about. It all turned out to be nothing but a lie Emily. He lied to me every chance he got and I was so stupid or blind that I believed him. Jason tried to warn me and I didn't - wouldn't listen. I should have believed him. Jason doesn't lie." Elizabeth stopped short. Isn't that what she had accused him of when he hadn't told her that Sonny wasn't really dead. She told him that he lied to her. She had used that as an excuse to run away from him, from her feelings for him.  
  
"Emily, I've been thinking about Jason a lot lately."  
  
Ric strained to hear what she was saying even though hearing her sing Jason Morgan's praises was the very last thing he wanted to do.  
  
"I want another chance with him, Em. I want to show him that I was wrong before. I want him to know that I do trust him - that I can trust him completely. This whole mess with Ric has shown me what real trust really is and I had that with Jason."  
  
Ric felt his blood come to a slow boil in his veins. She trusted Morgan, a man that killed on command, but she couldn't trust him when all he was trying to do was give them what Sonny had stole from them - give them what they deserved - a child.  
  
"I'm afraid to tell Jason how I feel. Carly says I lost my chance with him. I know, I know," Elizabeth said as if Emily was about to make a protest concerning Carly Corinthos. "I know she's never been my biggest fan but she made a point and maybe just maybe she's right. What if Jason is just reaching out to me cause I am the one real connection he has left to you and could I be doing the same thing?" Elizabeth wished that Emily had been there to answer those questions. She needed someone to tell her what to do. Anymore she didn't trust her own decision making process.  
  
Ric was thrilled to hear Elizabeth questioning her sudden surge of feelings for Jason. It gave him the slightest bit of hope yet her next sentence dashed that as quickly as it had come.  
  
"I'm not clinging to him as a way to hold onto your memory, Emily. I'm not," she paused, "but the thought of loving Jason scares me."  
  
Loving Jason..Loving Jason..Loving Jason..Ric couldn't stop those two simple words from ringing in his ears. His gaze rested on Elizabeth's still form. How could she love a man like Jason Morgan. He was nothing more than Sonny's lackey. He couldn't stand there any longer. He moved out of the shadows and made his way to her.  
  
"Elizabeth." His voice was soft and gentile all the while the anger inside him raged.  
  
"Ric?" Elizabeth was noticeably startled. "What are you doing here?" Quickly she stood up and faced him.  
  
"I followed you."  
  
"What? Why?" Elizabeth's eyes darted around wishing suddenly that there had been others in the cemetery.  
  
"I needed to talk to you. You won't return my calls..."  
  
"Doesn't that tell you something?" Elizabeth interrupted him. "I don't have anything to say to you."  
  
"But I have things to say to you."  
  
"Please save them. If it's more of how sorry you are and that you did all of this for us I don't want to hear any of it." Elizabeth turned away from him.  
  
"NO, don't go!" He grabbed her arm.  
  
"You're hurting me." She winced under the pressure of his grip.  
  
Immediately Ric released her arm. "I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you."  
  
"But you did."  
  
"Please Elizabeth just hear me out. That's all I ask just listen to me."  
  
"That's all I have ever done Ric is listen. Listen to one lie after another. I can't listen anymore. I won't. It's over. I don't love you. I'm not sure I ever did."  
  
Instantly Ric's thoughts were drawn to the conversation he had listened to her having with Emily's headstone about her feelings for Jason. "I don't believe that. I know that you loved me Elizabeth and some part of you still does."  
  
"I loved the Ric Lansing you pretended to be. I loved the man who had a love of the arts. I loved the man who was tender and romantic. But that wasn't the true Ric Lansing. The man you really are I could never love. You held a pregnant woman hostage. You chained her to a wall in our house!" Elizabeth cried. "You thought that you could steal her baby and give it to me as a way to make up for the child we lost. That's no man that I could ever love."  
  
"Elizabeth, please." Ric knew he sounded desperate but he couldn't help himself. He was desperate. He couldn't lose her. "I love you."  
  
"I don't love, you." She stressed.  
  
That sentence had Ric suddenly seeing red. He grabbed her hard by the shoulders and began to shake her. "Yes you do. You could love me again. I can change.I really can change. I love you!"  
  
"Let go of me...let me go!" Elizabeth's high-pitched voice permeated the still air.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Mr. Morgan," Francis began, "We have a problem."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"HEY! You heard the lady. Let her go!" Zander Smith came up upon Ric and Elizabeth. The sudden intrusion startled Ric enough for him to drop his hold on Elizabeth. "Are you okay?"  
  
"Yes," she said with a shaky voice.  
  
"Elizabeth, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean..."  
  
"to hurt me?" she finished his sentence for him.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Ric, this is why we are finished. I can't love you. I can't trust you. Please just leave me alone." With that said Elizabeth removed her wedding ring from her finger and placed it in Ric's hand.  
  
"You want me to drive you home?" Zander asked her.  
  
"You came to visit with Emily."  
  
"I think she'd understand." Zander remarked staring at Ric with a hardened gaze.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
Ric watched as Elizabeth and Zander walked away from him. He rolled her wedding ring around in the palm of his hand. One way or another that ring would be back on her finger he thought to himself. 


	8. A Start

Second Chances: A Start  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Mr. Morgan, we have a problem."  
  
Before Francis' words could even register in Jason's brain, Elizabeth's face flashed before his eyes. "What?" Jason barked already knowing the answer. It had to be Ric Lansing.  
  
Jason did his best to contain his wrath. When was Ric Lansing going to learn he thought to himself as he listened to Francis recount of what had happened at the cemetery? The image of him touching Elizabeth let alone manhandling her to the point she was in hysterics had Jason seeing red. While he continued listening he pulled open the desk draw and reached for his gun. In doing that he revealed a picture of Emily, Elizabeth and himself. Emily had forced him to pose with them. She knew there was very little that her brother could deny her and she had used the to her advantage that day.  
  
That picture held his gaze. He let out a labored sigh. He missed his little sister so much. He missed Elizabeth. He missed what they shared. He missed her touch, the soft way she used to brush her skin against his own. He longed for those days when he was recovering from his gunshot wound, when it had just been him and her in her studio.  
  
"Mr. Morgan?" Francis' questioning tone interrupted Jason's thoughts. "Mr. Morgan, what do you want me to do? Miss Webber just left with Zander Smith."  
  
"I want you to stay where you are. Max is on his way. He'll be taking over for you." Jason threw on his leather jacket and slipped his gun behind his back and exited the penthouse with Max in tow. He gave the guard the same instructions that Francis had received days before - only this time Jason hoped that the man knew how to get the job done.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Once more Ric Lansing watched his wife being guided away from him by another man. Gingerly he slipped Elizabeth's wedding band onto the littlest finger of his left hand. His eyes rested on the pair sitting next to one another - his and hers. He felt the tears prick his dark eyes as he recalled the day they had exchanged their wedding vows. She had been a beautiful bride. So full of love for him but now her azure eyes were filled with nothing but contempt.  
  
He looked on as the figures of Elizabeth and Zander Smith got smaller and smaller in the distance until there was nothing left of them but the image of her Ric had burned in his memory. Just as he was about to turn and leave he caught sight of a man lurking just beyond the cemetery fence. The man was dressed in an expensive Italian suit and while he didn't know him by name there was no mistaking he was one of Sonny's guards.  
  
It wasn't until he heard the thunderous roar of a motorcycle in the distance that it registered with Ric that that man had been shadowing Elizabeth at Jason Morgan's request. Ric felt his body become rigid at that thought. Jason Morgan - Sonny Corinthos they were everywhere. They had everything. "You can't have Elizabeth," Ric whispered under his breath.  
  
As he saw the motorcycle come careening to a halt and Jason Morgan jump off of it, Ric knew he needed to disappear. But where? The cemetery was nothing more than vast openness. His eyes darted around him finally spying a large marble crypt. Quietly he slipped inside hoping to give himself enough of a vantagepoint to hear what was going on between the two men but not giving himself away either.  
  
"Where the fuck is he?" Jason's voice echoed as he glared at Francis.  
  
"One minute he was here and the next he was gone," Francis said dumbfounded knowing how ridiculous that statement sounded.  
  
"Why the hell did you let him get that close to her?" Jason demanded. "I told you to shoot him if he came within fifteen feet of her!" He clenched his jaw waiting for a response.  
  
The words 'shoot him' grabbed Ric's attention as he listened crouched near the heavy stone door of the crypt.  
  
"I was about to when.."  
  
"When what? Was this before or after you heard her screaming?" Jason wasn't cutting the man any slack. In his eyes he had done a poor job with what he was assigned to do.  
  
"Zander Smith showed up and he seemed to handle things all right." Francis turned his face away from the man who he knew suddenly held his life in his hands.  
  
Jason forced Francis' eyes to meet his own. "You're paid to handle things!"  
  
"I'm sorry Mr. Morgan. It won't happen again."  
  
"Damn right it won't. Max will be guarding Elizabeth from now on. He's done the job before and knows how to do it right. Get out of here."  
  
Francis wasted little time in clearing out as his boss had suggested. Jason ran his hand through his blonde hair and let out a frustrated sigh. He reached inside his jacket and pulled out his cell phone making a call to Max. He was relieved to hear that Zander had taken Elizabeth to Kelly's and all seemed to fine with her. Stay close Jason had told Max. He didn't want another mishap.  
  
Jason looked up and realized that without knowing it he was standing before Emily's fresh grave. He peered at the marble headstone his stare boring holes in it if he could. This was all still so surreal to him. It was hard for him to believe that she was really gone. So many people in his world had faked their own demises that Jason wanted this to be just another one of them, yet he knew it wasn't. He rested his hands on the cool pink marble surface and listened to his own breathing. In.out.in.out.it all sounded so normal but nothing was normal anymore. "I miss you, Emily," he sighed. "How do I tell Elizabeth that I love her?" The question came out of nowhere but it had fallen from his lips just the same. It was as though in the stillness of the cemetery he didn't have to hide. It was easy for him to say what was in his heart because there was no one there to hear it - but there was.  
  
Ric clasped his hands into tight balls as he heard Jason proclaim his love of Elizabeth, his wife, to his sister's headstone.  
  
"I have messed this up so many times, Em. I don't want to do it again. But I don't want to be without her anymore."  
  
Ric raked his hands through his thick black hair and tried to keep his focus. The rational part of him knew he couldn't move if he wanted to stay alive, but the irrational man that he had been for most of the time lately had him wanting to take his chances and show himself to Morgan. He wanted to claim his wife.  
  
"I love her, Emily. I love her." Jason said it again. For him saying it out loud was freeing in a way. For so long his heart had been screaming those words even though his head refused to acknowledge them. It felt good to finally let them have free reign.  
  
"Shut up, Morgan! Shut up," Ric's jaw clenched as he muttered under his breath. With the more Jason talked the more Ric lost his resolve to stay hidden. It was like Jason was baiting him without even knowing it.  
  
"So much has happened between us, though, what if we can't find our way back?" Jason asked the emptiness in hopes of getting an answer. "We've.I've," he corrected, "hurt her so many times. What if she doesn't feel that way anymore?"  
  
No one would have believed that the man standing there talking to a grave marker was Jason Morgan - Jason Morgan, Sonny's Corinthos' enforcer, right hand man. That man had no feelings. That man was stone cold and tough as nails. Yet Elizabeth Webber had a way of turning that stone into flesh and feelings.  
  
The shrill ringing of Jason's cell phone cut through the stillness. "Morgan." He gave his customary response. "Elizabeth?" his tone was questioning and one of surprise. "Everything okay?"  
  
The mere mention of Elizabeth's name passing from Jason's lips had Ric pressed closer to the crypt entrance. She called him he thought. She called him. His mind repeated like a skipping record.  
  
"I'm fine. I need to see you."  
  
"Sure. Where?"  
  
"My studio. You remember the way right?" She tried to sound light- hearted as she spoke.  
  
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I can find my way." He joked back. "I'll be there in five."  
  
"Thanks Jason."  
  
Ric looked on from his hiding place as Jason nearly sprinted from the cemetery. His heart sank in his chest. This couldn't be happening. He couldn't really be losing her to him. He couldn't. he wouldn't.  
Ric emerged from the crypt as the motorcycle rumbled off into the distance. He wondered just how Elizabeth would feel knowing that Jason was having her followed. Armed with that knowledge Ric formed a plan as he headed back to the home he would soon be sharing with his wife again.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jason rounded the corner sharply as the building that housed Elizabeth's studio came into sight. It was then he saw her standing outside.  
  
"Hey," he said over the hum of the engine.  
  
"Take me for a ride." It wasn't a request but more of a statement.  
  
"Hop on."  
  
Elizabeth did just that. Wrapping her arms tightly around his waist, she let herself melt against his body. Jason revved up the engine and they were off to wherever the wind would take them. 


	9. The Ride

Second Changes: The Ride  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Elizabeth heard Jason before she ever saw him. The howl his motorcycle made as it wound its way through the streets of Port Charles was unmistakable. As he took the sharp curve she saw him lean deeply into it. Elizabeth immediately felt exhilarated. It would be only moments before she'd be perched behind him with her arms tightly encircling his waist.  
  
She had debated on calling him. Carly's words from days before still haunted her. Elizabeth toyed with the idea that the two of them were just clinging to one another as a way to remain close to Emily. Yet there was a niggling in the back of her mind saying that that wasn't the case at all. The feelings she had for Jason were as strong as they ever were. She had tried on numerous occasions to replace what she felt for Jason with others but there was still of sense of emptiness in her heart. It was a void only he could seem to fill.  
  
For a while she had deluded herself into believing that Ric had done just that, filled the nothingness left in her heart the day she walked out of Jason's penthouse and he made no move to stop her. She jumped headfirst into things with Ric without even seeing what was right in front of her. That was her biggest regret, but for once she had wanted Jason to fight for them as hard as she had always done. When he didn't Elizabeth just didn't see the point, until now.  
  
"Hey." He smiled at her.  
  
"Take me for a ride."  
  
"Hop on."  
  
Jason handed her his helmet and easily she slipped into her position behind him. It felt familiar. It felt comfortable. It felt right.  
  
"You ready?" he asked. She only nodded as he revved up the engine and took off screaming into the wind.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The sensation of Elizabeth's arms firmly wrapped around him made Jason smile. The first smile that passed his lips in he couldn't remember how long. If he really thought hard about it, smiles - genuine smiles - only came when he was with her. His life with Sonny and Carly was always filled with one crisis after another. That left very little time for pleasure. Yes, Carly and Sonny's life had pleasure but somehow that meant that he was the one picking up after them all the time.  
  
Jason knew what his job for Sonny was. He had taken it on willingly and it was now the only life he knew, but something inside of him understood there had to be more for him. The chasm created by Elizabeth's walking out of his life had been heighten by Emily's death and he didn't want to lose another person that he loved if he could help it.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Elizabeth noticed that he picked up speed as she secured her grasp on him more firmly. She smiled. He hadn't forgotten how much she loved to go fast. How the wind rushing passed them both made it difficult, if not impossible to think, to concentrate on anything but the deafening sound.  
  
She had so many regrets when it came to Jason. The dance that they did around one another for so long, they had wasted so much time. Emily's death and the shattered look in Zander's eyes this afternoon for what he lost proved to Elizabeth that time wasn't a given and that a person shouldn't waste a millisecond if it. That's what prompted her to phone Jason. As she listened to Zander at Kelly's, she knew that it was time for her to take that leap of faith she hadn't been able to before with Jason. She couldn't face the regrets if she didn't.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jason slowed the pace a bit suddenly not wanting the ride - the feeling that pulsed through his body to end too soon. He could have rode on forever if that meant that Elizabeth would be at his back always.  
  
He slowed even further bringing his motorcycle to a stop at the stone bridge - their bridge. He rested both feet on the ground to steady the bike. He was taking a big chance bringing her there but it had felt right to him. Evening was just about to die into night and sharing a sunset with her was what he had wanted to do.  
  
Elizabeth removed her helmet but she knew where they were before ever doing so. She could just feel it. She had gone there so many times during the periods when Jason had left Port Charles for one reason or another. She did it to feel closer to him.  
  
"It's beautiful." She said as she leaned her arms against the stone railing. The sun had just begun its decent into the horizon eliciting golden hues tipped in purple and crimson. Her eyes traveled over the colors as she imagined capturing the scene before her on canvas. It would be like her painting of the wind. It would another experience that she seemed to only be able to share with Jason.  
  
"It is." He said, as he faced her never even looking at the sunset.  
  
"Thanks for the ride. It was exactly what I needed."  
  
"For me too." He concurred.  
  
Jason joined her in leaning against the cool gray stone. A comfortable silence fell between them. At the moment there was no need for words. They both stared straight ahead as the sun slowly went to sleep for the evening.  
  
"Do you miss her?" Elizabeth was the first to speak.  
  
"Emily?"  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I still can't believe that I'll never see her again." Elizabeth rested her chin in the palm of her hands. "It's so unfair. Finally when she was just getting her life back it was taken from her, and Zander." She added. "It just doesn't seem right."  
  
"Maybe there is no right or wrong. It just is what it is."  
  
Elizabeth let out a heavy sigh as she turned to face him. "Jason Morgan, Mr. Simplistic." Jason gave her a quizzical glance. "You just have a way of making everything seem so simple," she continued, "where I on the other hand complicate everything."  
  
"That's just who you are Elizabeth."  
  
"Great." She frowned casting her face downward feeling forever destined to repeat her mistakes.  
  
"Look at me." He requested and when she didn't immediately comply he placed his hand under her chin and brought her cobalt blue eyes to meet his own. Even that faintest touch sent shivers through both of their bodies. "I like who you are Elizabeth Webber. I like to watch your eyes light up when we've just finished a ride. I like how you bite your lower lip when you are thinking or how you sing when you paint when you think no one is watching." Jason knew he was rambling - something he never did but he couldn't stop himself.  
  
"I do not sing!" she protested with a laugh.  
  
"Yes you do and off key I might add." Jason laughed too.  
  
Elizabeth reached out and playfully punched him in the arm. The memory of the day they had come there and he had her showing him her fighting skills jumped out at her. She smiled inwardly at that thought. Where had times like that gone she thought and could they get them back?  
  
She rubbed her hands against her shoulders. The fall night air was crisp. Without asking Jason removed his jacket and draped it around her shoulders. "You want to go back?"  
  
"No yet," she replied. Elizabeth wasn't quite ready to relinquish this private time with him. She wanted to get lost in the memories of days gone by. She wanted to capture this one as well just in case there were no others to come. "Hey look," she said pointing up toward the sky. "A shooting star. Make a wish Jason."  
  
"I don't make wishes. You make one."  
  
"Okay." Elizabeth closed her eyes and wished for a second change with her soul mate. What she didn't know was while she had her eyes closed Jason did as well making the very same wish.  
  
"We better head back. It's getting pretty cold."  
  
"Here." She removed his jacket and handed it back to him.  
  
"You keep it." Elizabeth did as he said and hugged the supple black leather closer to her body. She drank in his scent - a mixture of clean and musk at the same time. That was a smell she hadn't expected to experience again but was so elated to be doing so.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Elizabeth climbed behind him as he started the engine. She was looking forward to the ride back into town. She felt more contented at that very minute than she had in months. It astounded her how Jason had the ability to center her without even realizing he was doing anything at all. She hoped that he took the long way back since she wasn't ready for this sensation to end.  
  
Jason guided his bike to a stop at the curb in front of Elizabeth's building.  
  
"Thanks again for the ride."  
  
"Anytime, you know that." He looked at her with flushed pink cheeks and that twinkle in her eye that came after every one of their rides and he so badly wanted to lean in and kiss her.  
  
"You want to come up for some hot chocolate.or coffee?" She corrected knowing that hot chocolate was her drink of choice not his.  
  
Jason hesitated for only a second. "Yeah that'd be good." He too wasn't ready for their time together to end.  
  
"Okay then let's go."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Ric watched from his roost across the street as Jason and Elizabeth made their way inside of her building. He saw them laughing. He saw her smiling at him. He saw her loving him.  
  
"Damn you Morgan! Damn you!" 


	10. The Reveal

Second Chances: The Reveal  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The sound of the swinging door caused Elizabeth to look up hoping it was Jason. Over the last week he had taken to coming into Kelly's for coffee and sometimes a meal. Since their ride she had felt they had settled into their easy friendship once more. It was a stroke of luck that she had never thought they would be able to have again. She was disappointed to see that the individual entering the little diner wasn't Jason but just another Port Charlian, as Luke liked to call those that lived in the town.  
  
The lunch rush was in full swing leaving Elizabeth little time to stay unhappy about the lack of Jason's presence. She had heard that Faith Roscoe was again making trouble for Sonny with the five families so Elizabeth assumed that Jason would be busy handling the fail out. Still she longed to see him. Jason had a way of making her feel that she could accomplish anything she set her mind to - and she was going to need that for her first meeting with Alexis Davis to discuss her divorce from Ric.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Ric stopped short as he entered the courtyard in front of Kelly's. Immediately his eyes were drawn to one of Sonny's goons doing a poor attempt at hiding in plain sight. He shook his head as a smirk filled his face. He knew how much Elizabeth disliked being guarded. She had told him as much when they had first gotten together. He certainly planned on using that information to his advantage.  
  
Ric walked confidently into the other man's line of vision as though he didn't know he was there. He needed him to reveal himself since Ric knew what Jason had instructed the guard to do. Ric smiled again as he saw through the reflection in the glass door the man pull out his cell phone as he walked inside.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Jason," Max began, "Lansing just went inside Kelly's. How do you want me handle this?"  
  
"Damn him!" Jason spat.  
  
"Do you want me to go inside?" Max questioned. "I could make up some excuse."  
  
"No, stay where you are. Lansing isn't a threat at the moment." Jason couldn't believe he had just heard himself utter those words but part of him couldn't risk Max being revealed. He couldn't chance the fragile start that he and Elizabeth had been making. "Just stay close and the minute things get out of hand you know what to do."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
Jason leaned back in his leather chair rubbing his hands across his weary face. He had been up for the better part of the previous night going over strategy with Sonny on how to remove Faith Roscoe from their lives - only to have gotten no where. She was like a leech and she wasn't about to let go.  
He let his eyes rest on the photo of he, Emily and Elizabeth that was perched on his desk. He wasn't one for photos or any kind of real decorations but having that picture in plain sight felt right to him so he left it. Jason traced the outline of his sister's face not sure he would ever get over her being gone forever. Then his finger moved toward Elizabeth's broad smile. It was the same smile she wore after every one of their rides. The shrill ringing of his cell halted his train of thought.  
  
"Morgan," he said into the mouthpiece. "What? When? I'll be right there." Jason grabbed his jacket and headed for the penthouse door. Faith was up to her old tricks.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Ric took a seat at a table he knew was in Elizabeth's section and watched her as she made her way around the room attending to her customers. "Can I help you?" she asked sweetly before looking up to see Ric sitting before her. Immediately her body tensed and that action wasn't lost on him.  
  
"I'd like it if we could talk."  
  
"I don't get paid to talk. I get paid to work."  
  
"I'll take a coffee, black. Is that better? Can we talk now?"  
  
She turned the cup on the table right side up and filled it. "Anything else?"  
  
"You," he said pointedly. "I want you." Ric reached out and tried to touch her but she quickly pulled away. "I've been calling you all week and you don't return my messages..."  
  
"Doesn't that tell you anything?" She cut him off flabbergasted by his perseverance. "I don't have anything to say to you Ric that doesn't require an attorney present."  
  
"What?" He shook his head as though he hadn't heard her correctly.  
  
"I think you heard me. I don't have anything left to say to you. All I want is for this nightmare of a marriage to be over."  
  
Ric wasn't able to hide the pain that flashed in his eyes. She thought their marriage had been a nightmare? "A nightmare?" he questioned her.  
  
"If you aren't going to order, I have other customers I need to get to." The last thing Elizabeth wanted to do was stand in Kelly's and debate the shortcomings of their marriage. She didn't have the time or the energy for it anymore. All she wanted to do was put that part of her life to rest and try to move on.  
  
"Elizabeth, wait." He reached for her arm again this time she wasn't able to break free. "At least let me apologize for the other day at the cemetery. I don't know what got into me..."  
  
"Seems to me you never do!" Elizabeth cut him off as she jerked her arm away with enough force to nearly spill the pot of coffee she was holding in the other hand.  
  
"I didn't mean to frighten you. I just needed you to hear me." Ric's voice pleaded with her to at least give him a chance to explain.  
  
"I've heard enough Ric. How many more lies do you expect me to believe? It's over."  
  
"I'm not the only one who lies to you Elizabeth!" Ric stated firmly as his gaze went to the window. He could see the shadow of the man Jason had tailing her.  
  
"What? What are you talking about?" Elizabeth knew she shouldn't have given anything that fell from Ric's mouth credence but she couldn't help herself.  
  
"I'm not the only who lies to you." He repeated enjoying having the upper hand.  
  
"If you have something to say Ric just say it."  
  
"You think that Jason is such a truthful guy don't you? The mighty Jason Morgan.brain damaged Jason Morgan doesn't lie does he?" Ric enjoyed the pained look that had come to rest on Elizabeth's face. He loved every minute of laying the seeds of doubts toward Jason in her head.  
  
"No he doesn't." Elizabeth agreed even though not that many months ago she had accused Jason of that very act, lying to her, but she wasn't about to give anything away to Ric.  
  
"Well I would rethink that if I were you."  
  
"What the hell are you talking about?" She had had enough of his game playing and riddles.  
  
"Come closer." He instructed.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Just do it and you will see why in a minute." Elizabeth did as he asked. "See that shadow out there?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Do you recognize it?" Before she could answer he continued. "That's one of Sonny's men. He's been tailing you for weeks now."  
  
Elizabeth's mouth fell open. The man Ric was talking about was Max. He had guarded her during the whole Sonny - Alcazar mess.  
  
"So, I take it you didn't know?" Ric sneered glad he got the reaction he was looking for.  
  
It took Elizabeth a minute to regroup from the reveal. She was more than a little angry that she was again being guarded but she couldn't - wouldn't let Ric know that. "Sonny's men come in here all the time. It's nothing for them to be out in the courtyard."  
  
"Oh really?" Ric cocked his brow.  
  
"Yes." She couldn't stop her mind from racing with so many random thoughts. Why was Jason having her followed? Or was it Sonny whose orders Max was complying with? She hadn't a clue but she was about to find out. "Penny," she called to the waitress across the room. "Can you cover me for a while? I have to go out."  
  
Penny gave her a questioning glance but agreed just the same. "Sure."  
  
"Thanks." Elizabeth removed her apron, walked over and laid it on the counter before heading for the door.  
  
"Where are you going?" Ric asked innocently.  
  
"None of your business," she muttered preoccupied with her own thoughts.  
  
Ric sat back and watched the exchange between Max and Elizabeth taking place just beyond the doors.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"What are you doing here?" Elizabeth hit him with her acquisition before he ever saw her coming.  
  
"Miss Webber." he stammered. "I was about to come in for lunch."  
  
"Oh really?" Elizabeth didn't believe a word he was saying. Max's expression looked like that of a child who had just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.  
  
"Yeah, what's today's special?" He continued to play his fake reason for lurking outside of Kelly's.  
  
"Crow," she retorted.  
  
"Huh?" He was honestly confused by her response.  
  
"That's what you will be eating when I figure out what's really going on here!" With that said Elizabeth walked ahead of him knowing full well that Max would follow.  
  
"Miss Webber, wait..wait." He finally caught up with her enough to reach for her shoulder to stop her. "Where are you going?"  
  
"To where ever Jason is."  
  
'Shit' Max thought to himself. He was so busted.  
  
"Are you going to take me or should I get a cab?" Max knew, from the many times prior he had guarded Elizabeth that it would be much easier for all concerned if he just did as she asked. And even though he knew that Jason was going to be pissed about all of it he would expect him to do what Elizabeth had wanted.  
  
"Of course I'll take you. The car is around the corner."  
  
Elizabeth and Max rounded the corner and were no longer in Ric's line of sight. He was pleased with himself. Soon enough Jason's little lie would prove to be his downfall and Elizabeth would be back where she belonged - in her husband's arms. 


	11. The Fallout

Second Chances: The Fallout  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jason looked around the coffee warehouse shaking his head. The drugs he found in the latest shipment were an obvious plant by Faith. In her need to seek revenge on Sonny for her husband's untimely demise, she was getting sloppy. That was actually to his and Sonny's advantage. It was just that Jason had grown tired of Ms. Roscoe's childish games. He just wanted to be rid of her already. Much like he wanted to be rid of Ric Lansing.  
  
That idea brought forth Max's earlier call into Jason's thoughts. Ric Lansing was far too arrogant for his own good and Jason knew like Faith that would be his greatest undoing. Jason's only concern was would he harm Elizabeth in the process. He pulled out his phone from his back pocket and started to dial Max for an update.  
  
"Mr. Morgan." A voice came from across the warehouse floor. "Over here. We found more."  
  
"Damn!" Jason tucked the phone back in his pocket and head to the other side of the warehouse.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Elizabeth rode quietly alongside Max on their way to Harbor View Towers. She was still trying to discern if it had been Sonny or Jason who had requested she be followed. She had tried to ask Max for that answer but of course he was silent as always.  
  
Jason had told her that Sonny didn't blame her for what Ric did to Carly but maybe he had been wrong. It certainly appeared to Elizabeth that Carly blamed her or at least thought she was rather stupid not knowing what was going on right under her nose. For once she and Carly Corinthos agreed on something. She could have almost laughed if it all hadn't been so twisted.  
  
Elizabeth gave Max a sideways glance and wondered if Ric wasn't just playing her again. Had she let him talk her into believing something that wasn't even true? It wasn't like Max hadn't ever eaten at Kelly's before. So why couldn't he have been doing that when she found him outside the diner?  
  
Max parked the car in its appropriate spot in the garage and led Elizabeth to the bank of elevators that would lead them to the top floor penthouses. Suddenly she felt silly and wished she hadn't let Ric bait her once again, the only good thing she saw coming out of all of this is that she would get to see Jason - something she had wanted to do but had been too afraid to admit.  
  
As they exited the elevator the sight of Sonny talking Johnny came into view. He was going over with the man some sort of food Carly was craving that needed to be picked up at the market.  
  
"Why are you having me followed?" Elizabeth asked without warning.  
  
"What?" Sonny turned and looked between the young woman and his employee.  
  
"Why are you having Max following me?" she asked again.  
  
"I'm not." Sonny glanced at Max and knew the answer to his question without it even being asked. It was Jason's orders Max was adhering to.  
  
"I know what Ric did to Carly was horrendous but I assure you that I didn't know anything..."  
  
"Elizabeth," Sonny cut her off, "I know you aren't to blame."  
  
She was stunned. In her heart she had wanted to believe what Jason had told her but hearing it come directly from Sonny made it all the more true. A little bit of the burden she had been carrying for months now had been lifted.  
  
"You don't?"  
  
"No. Ric is the only one I blame. You're as much his victim as Carly."  
  
"I can't believe..."  
  
"Believe me. You have long proved your loyalty to me and to Jason. I would never once thought that you would have been in on what Ric was planning."  
  
"Thank you," she whispered. "I am sorry though. I wish I would.."  
  
"Stop worrying." Sonny smiled.  
  
"So if it wasn't you having me followed? It was..." Elizabeth averted her eyes toward Jason's penthouse door.  
  
"You'll have to ask him yourself." Sonny had to wonder how the hell Jason was going to get out of this one.  
  
"He's not there," Johnny said as Elizabeth went toward the penthouse that she had once called home. "There was some trouble at the warehouse he went to take care of."  
  
"I'll wait," Elizabeth said firmly as her ire grew.  
  
Max opened the door and let her into the penthouse. "Do you need anything Miss Webber?"  
  
"No Max, I'm fine."  
  
"Okay, well I'll be right outside if you do." With that he closed the door and Elizabeth felt as though she had just traveled back several months in time.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Morgan," Jason said into his cell.  
  
"Boss we got a problem," Max said hesitantly.  
  
Jason's mind raced as it had done the day Francis called him saying something very similar. "What? Is she okay? What the hell did he do now?" Jason couldn't imagine even Ric having the nerve to do something in the middle of Kelly's lunch rush.  
  
"She's sitting in your penthouse at the moment."  
  
"What? Why?" Horrible thoughts immediately sprung to Jason's mind. "How could you let him get close enough to hurt her?" he spat thinking that would be the only reason that she would now be at his place. A place she vowed to never return to.  
  
"No, no it's not like that." Max heard his boss let out what to him sounded like a sigh of relief. He had to wonder if he would feel that way in another minute once he told him what was really going on.  
  
"What then?"  
  
"Miss Webber, she caught me lurking around outside of Kelly's. I tried to cover but she wasn't buying it. She said that was going to where ever you were to find out what was really going on."  
  
"Damn!"  
  
"I'm sorry. I just thought it was better to bring her to you rather than let her go find you herself."  
  
"It's fine Max. I'll be there as soon as I can."  
  
"Okay. Well I told her I was there is she needed anything."  
  
"Good."  
  
Jason dropped the phone to his side and covered his face with his other hand. "Damn" he said again. He could only imagine what might be going through her mind right then. Earlier he hadn't wanted to risk Max being revealed when he didn't let him just enter Kelly's casually but now Jason was wishing he had. It would have made things a lot simpler.  
  
He knew he couldn't lie to her even by omission. That had been their downfall before. And he wasn't ashamed to be having her followed. Ric Lansing had proved time and time again to be a threat. He was one even more so now given the fact that Elizabeth had filed for divorce. Lansing wasn't one to give up without a fight. He had met his match for that in Jason Morgan though. Now all Jason had to do was convince Elizabeth of that.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Elizabeth walked around Jason's penthouse as she had done when she stayed there months before. Nothing was really any different until she spied the lone frame resting on the desk next to the phone. She picked it up and instantly recalled the day that it was taken. Elizabeth could hear Emily badgering Jason to take the picture with them. He hadn't wanted to but somehow Emily had gotten her way with her big brother. Elizabeth smiled as she looked at Jason between the two of them. She remembered how it felt to have his arm draped around her when Reginald said he needed them to be closer. The mere thought of it now sent a chill down her back.  
  
"Stop it," she said out loud. "You're supposed to be angry with him." She scolded herself for letting down her resolve so quickly. Her fingers trailed along the outer edge of the pool table as she walked beside it. She was flooded with memories of her and Jason's times together. Absently she racked the balls and eyed the cue ball as she attempted to break.  
  
Jason heard the loud crash of pool balls as he turned the knob. "You're breaks have gotten better," he said as he laid his jacket over the arm of the creamy brown leather sofa. "Up for a game?" He wasn't anxious to have the conversation he knew was coming.  
  
"Sure." She nodded and handed him his favorite cue stick thinking to herself old habits die-hard.  
  
They played pool for the next half-hour barely speaking. The tension in the room was noticeable but neither wanted to acknowledge it. It came down to Elizabeth's final shot. It was a bank shot one that she had never made before yet that afternoon the eight ball fell into the pocket as though there were no other place for it to go.  
  
"You must have been practicing," Jason remarked with a hint of jealousy in his voice. He didn't want to imagine Ric and Elizabeth playing pool together. That had been their thing just as the rides they took were.  
  
"No, just lucky I guess. Aren't you going to ask me why I'm here?" she questioned as she placed her cue stick into its spot in the rack hanging on the wall.  
  
"You aren't going to tell me?" he countered.  
  
Elizabeth looked him square in the eye knowing full well that Max had alerted him of her presence. He would have had to. "I want to know what Max was doing at Kelly's today." She cut to the chase.  
  
"He was watching you."  
  
Stunned for a moment Elizabeth just stared at him. She had actually thought that he might even attempt to deny it, but secretly was glad he hadn't.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I told him to."  
  
"Well that much I gathered. Especially when Sonny knew nothing about it."  
  
"You talked to Sonny?" Jason was surprised. "You thought that he was the one?"  
  
"Yes.no.I didn't know what to think. Ric was going on about how you lie too. That you had a man following me for weeks.then Max gave me some lame excuse. I was just so angry that when I got off the elevator and Sonny was standing there I just blurted it out." Jason smiled as she rambled on as she always did when she was nervous or upset. "Why Jason? Why are you having me guarded?"  
  
"I thought it was necessary."  
  
"Is Faith Roscoe that much of a threat?" Elizabeth knew that she had tried to poison her and had made various threats against her but since she had left Ric those had all but died.  
  
"Not Faith, Ric."  
  
"Ric?" She shouldn't have sounded surprised but she was.  
  
"Yes Ric. He's capable of just about anything. He's already proven that. I wasn't about to take any chances with you." He let a indication of what he felt for her show through in his tone.  
  
"He just can't accept that I don't love him." Elizabeth stated.  
  
"Exactly. He couldn't accept that you lost your child and look what he did. Are you telling me that you think he's not above reproach?"  
  
"No.no," she sighed. She knew that Jason was right but hated the thoughts of having Max, or any of the men, shadowing her.  
  
"You said Ric told you I lied to you. That he knew that one of my guys had been following you for weeks. How would he know that if he hadn't been following you himself?"  
  
"I don't know," she admitted as she thought to the day at the cemetery. That day Ric had admitted openly that he had followed her.  
  
"So Ric told you I lied to you?" Jason said again. "Do you think I lied, Elizabeth?" He needed to know where he stood with her.  
  
She faltered for just a moment, enough for Jason to find himself holding his breath. "No you didn't exactly lie to me, but you weren't exactly honest either."  
  
"Maybe not." He agreed. "What would you have said if I had told you about Max?" he asked full well knowing her answer.  
  
"I would have told you no.never again."  
  
"See why I didn't mention it?" Jason half smiled attempting to gauge her reaction to it all. "I know how you feel about having Max, Johnny or any of the guys around but I can't call them off. Especially not now, if Ric knows about them then he has to have been trailing you himself. I won't debate this with you Elizabeth."  
  
She saw the resolve in Jason's features and knew that she wasn't going to change his mind. There was a part of her elated by this knowledge. It gave her hope for what they could be to one another again. But the thought of having Max breathing down her neck made her leery. "I have one condition."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"They need to keep their distance."  
  
"Fine. And I have one," he said.  
  
"And?"  
  
"That you don't try to lose them."  
  
Elizabeth smiled broadly. "Deal."  
  
"You want to play another game?" Jason asked motioning toward the pool table.  
  
"Sure...oh no wait.I left Penny at Kelly's alone. I have to go back."  
  
"I'll take you." He offered.  
  
"No Max?" she questioned.  
  
"No Max."  
  
Max watched as the pair exited the penthouse smiling. He hadn't heard the yelling that he had expected to hear. He was glad. He knew how much Elizabeth Webber meant to the enforcer and it was good to see him smile again. 


	12. The Games Begin

Second Chances: The Games Begin  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Elizabeth reached for her coat and keys. She was due at Kelly's in fifteen minutes for her shift. Quickly she closed the heavy steel door to her studio with a loud thud and smiled. Jason had been true to his word and Max and the other guards had kept their distance. Even though she knew Max was lurking around the corner it was nice not to see him.  
  
"Bye Max," she laughed as she walked passed him on her way out of the building.  
  
"Morning Miss Webber."  
  
She stopped and turned around to look at him. "Please call me Elizabeth." She requested.  
  
"Morning Elizabeth." He corrected himself per her asking. "You on your way to Kelly's?"  
  
"Yeah, I have the morning shift and.." She stopped to check her watch. ".I'm going to be late."  
  
Max shook his head as he watched her scurry down the hallway to the steps leading to the outside. Even though he knew how much she disliked being guarded, she never once took her frustrations out on any of them. She was a true lady and Max hoped that this time around Jason wouldn't let her slip through his fingers. Feeling he had given her ample time, Max pulled on his overcoat and headed to his normal spot outside of Kelly's diner.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Elizabeth peered inside of Kelly's. Many of the tables and the counter were already filled with morning patrons waiting for their usual coffee and breakfast. Just as she was about to reach for door a hand on her shoulder stopped her.  
  
"Elizabeth." Jason's voice came from behind. He could feel her stiffen under his touch and immediately wondered why she was tense.  
  
"Jason, hi." She sounded relieved to see him. He looked at her questioningly trying to gauge what was going on behind those beautiful azure eyes. "You here for your coffee?" she asked.  
  
"You okay?" he inquired ignoring her question.  
  
"Yeah, fine why?"  
  
"You don't seem fine."  
  
"I'm fine really. Coffee black right?" She turned around and began heading inside.  
  
"Elizabeth, look at me." He stopped her and made her turn to look directly at him. "What's going on?" His concern was evident.  
  
"Nothing." She didn't want to tell him over the past several days she had been getting hang up phone calls, one right after the other sometimes, at her studio. She talked herself into believing it wasn't anything more than prank calls, having done that herself as a kid.  
  
"Are you sure?" He pressed. Max hadn't mentioned anymore run ins with Ric Lansing or anything out of the ordinary happening in Elizabeth's life. Maybe he was just over reacting, but he would speak to the guard about it anyway.  
  
"Yes, I'm sure." She stressed. "So coffee black and maybe something to go with it?" she asked with a smile that took Jason's breath away.  
  
"I'd love to but I can't. I need to get to the warehouse.business." He watched that beautiful smile only Elizabeth had fade from her face. "How about a ride when you get off work?" He immediately asked hoping to make it up to her.  
  
"I'd love it."  
  
"What time are you off?"  
  
"Around two," she answered.  
  
"I'll be here at two then." Impulsively Jason leaned in and kissed her softly. It took them both by surprise. "I'll see you later." He rushed off not knowing what had gotten into him.  
  
Elizabeth leaned against the door letting out a deep sigh as she lightly ran her fingers over her lips. He'd just kissed her. Jason Morgan the man of little emotion had just kissed her. There hadn't been any danger. He hadn't just rescued her, nothing. He had just flat out kissed her. She couldn't help but let out a squeal of delight as she walked inside Kelly's. Her shift wouldn't be over soon enough.  
  
Ric stepped back inside the men's restroom after watching the scene unfold before him. Jason Morgan had just kissed his wife and she had enjoyed it. The vein at Ric's temple began to throb. Where was the fallout he had expected? What happened to Elizabeth's need for the truth, her need not to be lied to? How had Jason Morgan gotten away with all of that and he hadn't been able to?  
He splashed some cold water on his face and tried to regain his composure, which was difficult at best. He had to find a way to hold it together or he didn't stand a chance of winning Elizabeth back. He stepped out of the men's room and observed her as she went merrily about her business as waitress. There was a spring in her step and she looked so very happy to him. He felt his chest constrict knowing the reason for her elation and it slowly killed him inside.  
  
Ric took a seat at the end of the counter and continued concentrating on his soon to be ex-wife. His face blanched at that thought. He didn't want an ex-wife. He wanted a wife and he wanted their child. He wanted the things that had been stolen from him. Ric wasn't about to give up with a fight.  
He looked outside expecting to see one of Sonny's men perched at the door, nothing. 'Odd.' He thought to himself but decided to take advantage of it just the same.  
  
"Elizabeth," he called to get her attention.  
  
His voice stopped her cold. A harsh sigh escaped her lips as she did her best to ignore him.  
  
"Elizabeth." His voice louder this time.  
  
She stopped Penny in mid walk to the counter. "Would you please wait on Ric?"  
  
"Sure." Penny agreed as she wondered when the attractive lawyer was going to give up. With the way Jason and Elizabeth had been looking at one another over the past few weeks, Penny knew it wouldn't be long before they themselves figured out what half the town already knew. "What can I get for you?" she asked as she filled Ric's coffee cup.  
  
"Elizabeth."  
  
"I don't believe she's on the menu." Penny joked.  
  
"I want to talk to her," he said eyes trained on the petite brunette.  
  
"Apparently she doesn't want to talk to you," Penny said bluntly.  
  
"She's going to talk to me." Ric stood up and strode across the room to where Elizabeth was taking an order. "You can't avoid me forever!" He whipped her around to face him as the customers stared at him as if was possessed.  
  
"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Elizabeth gaped at him wide eyed.  
  
"I need to talk to you, right now!"  
  
"I'm sorry." Elizabeth turned back and spoke to the young couple sitting at her table.  
  
"Don't apologize for me!" Ric's grasp on what he was saying and his surroundings was ebbing.  
  
"Let's go," Elizabeth finally said pushing him into the kitchen. The patrons at Kelly's had already seen enough of their floorshow. "What is wrong with you?" She asked exasperated by his behavior.  
  
"Why are you avoiding me?" He countered her question with one of his own.  
  
"You're supposed to be a bright man, Ric. You figure it out," she quipped.  
  
"He's no better than me!"  
  
"Who's no better than you?"  
  
"Your wonderful Jason!" he spat.  
  
"What the hell does Jason have to do with any of this? He wasn't the one who kidnapped a pregnant woman and intended on passing her child off as ours! He wasn't the one whose insane need for that child rather than the one I wanted to make with you almost cost me my life. In all the time I've known Jason he's never done anything but protect me - so yes for me he is wonderful!"  
  
Ric felt the lump in his throat and did his best to swallow around it. Had she just said that she thought Jason Morgan was wonderful? The sound of Elizabeth's voice rang in his ears. "He kills people for a living, Elizabeth. That's his job. Do you get that?"  
  
"Are you any different?" she countered. "What were you going to do with Carly after she had her baby?"  
  
He couldn't stand there and listen to her defending Jason Morgan for a second longer. Every muscle in Ric's body tensed as she went on extolling the virtues of Sonny's enforcer. "You love him don't you?" His voice was quiet at first and far too calm. "Say it Elizabeth.SAY IT! Tell me you love Jason Morgan!"  
  
Elizabeth pushed back the tears that stung her blue eyes. She couldn't, wouldn't let him see her cry.  
  
"SAY IT - TELL ME YOU LOVE HIM!" Her silence only served to fuel his ire. That silence expressed much more than her words ever could.  
  
"Elizabeth are you all right?" Max's strong voice came from behind them. She nodded knowing the moment she opened her mouth that the sobs would begin. "I think it's time you found a new place for breakfast, Mr. Lansing." Max wrenched Ric's arm tightly behind his back. Elizabeth saw a look of pain flash across his face.  
  
She stood in the kitchen watching from the pass through as Max forcefully ushered Ric out of the diner with all of the customers viewing the spectacle.  
  
"You okay?" Penny asked her friend.  
  
"I'm fine." Elizabeth lied. Ric's anger had shaken her more than she wanted to admit.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Max dialed the warehouse and looked over as Johnny held Ric Lansing pressed against the brick wall outside of Kelly's.  
  
"Jason," he began, "Lansing's at it again."  
  
"Damn him! How's Elizabeth?" Jason squeezed the bridge of his nose and threw the pen he was holding on top of the books that were scattered on his desk at the coffee warehouse. Bobbie had always said he was good with figures but this morning he didn't believe it. There were some major discrepancies in the books and so far he couldn't discern why.  
  
"She shaken." Max admitted. "The bastard was screaming at her. What do you want me to?"  
  
What a loaded question that was Jason thought. He knew exactly what he wanted Max to do. He wanted to tell him to dispose of him yet he knew that wasn't his call - even though he was beginning to think differently about it. "Scare the shit out of him, mock execution style."  
  
Max smiled at that thought. He was going to enjoy this.  
  
"Have someone take him to one of the safe houses and show Mr. Lansing that I mean business."  
  
"Right boss. Take him to the safe house and you know what to do," Max said with a smile to Johnny before heading inside to check on Elizabeth.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Ric could still hear the reverberation of the gun clicking beside his temple. He was strapped to a chair in one of Sonny's many safe houses as the guard discharged his firearm. To Ric's shock it had been empty. He shook his head trying to rid himself of that eerie sound mixed with the hyena type laughter from Johnny O'Brien as Ric defecated himself from fear.  
  
"Next time it won't be empty." Ric recalled Johnny saying as he made his hasty exit.  
  
Jason Morgan had humiliated him for the last time. Ric sat down on the edge of the bed he once shared with Elizabeth, a plan brewing in his brain. He would have Elizabeth again.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Elizabeth turned around and came face to face with Jason's concerned filled blue orbs.  
  
"You okay?" he asked.  
  
"Max called you, didn't he?"  
  
"You expected him not to? And that promise about them keeping their distance - well you can forget that."  
  
"Jas..." she began to protest.  
  
"It's not negotiable. Max stays in plain sight from now on. Now are you okay, really?" Jason's hand found its way to hers. His tough skin caressed her creamy inciting as wave of electric pulses through the both of them.  
  
Elizabeth swallowed a small sigh that wanted to escape past her lips. "I will be better after that ride you promised me." She grinned.  
  
"You ready then?"  
  
"In one minute. I need to get a few things from the back for the next shift."  
  
"I'll go with you."  
  
"You don't have to." She assured him, knowing full well that he wasn't about to listen.  
  
Elizabeth climbed up the tiny step stool and retrieved the large containers of salt, pepper and sugar and handed them to Jason standing below her. She reached across the shelf stretching for the box of coffee filters that sat there and in doing that the step stool beneath her began to wobble. In that split second she found herself being cradled in Jason's strong arms. Their equally blue eyes locked on one another. Each could hear the other's heart beating wildly the storeroom was that quiet.  
  
"T-t-thank you," she stuttered, as Jason lowered her feet to the ground yet never let go of her.  
  
Again impulse over took him and he found his mouth capturing hers. He reveled in the taste of her as she allowed him to part her lips with his tongue. She tasted so sweet to him. Elizabeth moaned softly as their tongues danced around one another. He entwined his fingers through her chestnut locks and savored every moment as their kiss deepened.  
  
"Oh excuse me.." Bobbie's voice startled the pair. Reluctantly they parted both immediately missing the heat that they shared.  
  
"You ready for that ride?" Jason asked as he walked passed Bobbie.  
  
"Yes." Elizabeth's cheeks were flushed not only from the excitement she had just experienced but embarrassment as well.  
  
"See you tomorrow, Elizabeth," Bobbie called to her with a knowing smile.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jason handed Elizabeth a helmet neither wanting to acknowledge what had just happened inside.  
  
"Can I drive?" she finally asked.  
  
"You want to drive?"  
  
"Yes!" She playfully punched him in the arm for the smirk that was on his face.  
  
"You sure about this?" Jason asked from Elizabeth's usual vantagepoint.  
  
"Yes, I'm sure." She enjoyed the way his body felt pressed against her back. She knew that he would really be doing most of the work when it came to driving and holding the bike up but she loved that he always allowed her to believe that she was the one in control.  
  
The motorcycle started with a roar and they headed off down the road. Elizabeth felt exhilarated. She loved the wind in her face and the deafening sound it made in her ears. She loved the speed and feeling of being completely free.  
  
She knew where she wanted to go. She wanted to watch another beautiful sunset with Jason from their stone bridge. As she rounded the bend with Jason's help something felt funny to the both of them. The bike shook violently and Elizabeth's screams filled the air. 


	13. The Accident

Second Chances: The Accident  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
There was little Jason could do to hold the bike up. He felt it sliding out from under them and Elizabeth's screams pierced his ears. Suddenly he had a flash back to his accident with AJ years before. He felt helpless then and he felt even more so now. 'God spare her,' he thought.  
  
Jason braced his body against Elizabeth's hoping to shoulder most of the collision himself as he watched in slow motion them come careening against the inflexible pavement, his motorcycle going one way and their bodies the other.  
  
"Elizabeth!" His frantic calls filled the night air. "Elizabeth!" Jason's eyes scanned their surroundings but he couldn't see her anywhere. "Elizabeth, answer me!" He ordered but his voice held an inkling of panic. Scrambling to his feet he ignored the pain that throbbed in his side. All he could focus on was finding her. "Elizabeth!"  
  
Finally the sight of her body came into view. She had been thrown further up the road upon impact. Jason rushed to her side feet sliding out from under him as he tried to skid to a stop beside her. "Elizabeth, baby look at me." He took notice of the blood trickling down her forehead from a deep gash. "Sweetheart," He swallowed hard around the lump in his throat. "please open your eyes," he pleaded with her. Attempting to reign in his composure Jason surveyed the rest of her body. There were a few bloody scrapes and cuts, bruising was already beginning to show on her fair skin but nothing else appeared to be wrong. He just needed her to wake up.  
  
"Elizabeth, come on baby, open those beautiful eyes. Show me those gorgeous blue eyes." Jason choked on his unshed tears. Absently he found himself stroking her creamy smooth cheek. There were so many emotions teeming through him.  
  
"J - Jason?" Elizabeth's voice was shaky as her eyes fluttered open.  
  
"Thank god!" Relief filled him. He bent down and kissed her softly. "Hey lay still," he instructed as she tried to put her body in an upright position. His eyes scanned the area searching for his cell phone.  
  
Elizabeth cried out in pain and his full attention was resting on her again.  
  
"What? What hurts?" Gone was the cool calm and collected enforcer, the man whose stares had the ability to bring many to their knees.  
  
"Everything," she cried. "But mostly my wrist and shoulder." It was then she reached up and touched the gash on her forehead. Her fingers returned with blood smeared across them. "And my head," she groaned.  
  
"Don't move okay? I need to call for an ambulance." She nodded but stopped suddenly as a wave of nausea filled her at even that slight motion. "Elizabeth?" he questioned as he watched her grow even paler than her usual complexion was. He was worried that she might be going into shock. 'Damn, where was that cell phone?'  
  
"I'm okay," she finally muttered the sensation passing.  
  
'Finally,' he thought as he fished his phone out of the weeds. Quickly dialing 911 he waited for an operator to pick up. "Come on - come on," he said with an anxious tone.  
  
"911 Emergency services what is the nature of your call?" The nasally operator's voice questioned.  
  
"There's been an accident. We need an ambulance. I'm afraid my girlfriend is going into shock."  
  
Even through her pain Elizabeth heard that single word - girlfriend - and it made her heart swell. Suddenly the ache that filled her body lessened and was replaced with elation. Jason had called her his girlfriend. Had he really meant it or was it just anxiety from the accident that had him saying that word? She desperately wanted to believe he had meant it.  
  
"What's the location of the accident?" The operator asked.  
  
"The bend just before Vista Point."  
  
"I've dispatched a paramedic team and a squad car. They should be arriving shortly."  
  
Jason didn't even bother saying thank you to the woman on the other end of his phone. He just click it closed and went back to where Elizabeth sat cradling her left arm with the other.  
  
"An ambulance is on its way. How bad does it hurt?" he asked motioning toward her arm.  
  
"I'll live."  
  
"You better. I can't lose you." Jason all but dispensed with cool detached demeanor. He had never really been able to pull it off with Elizabeth anyway but seeing her lying there unconscious before had been enough for him to know that he wasn't going to lose her again.  
  
"You won't." Elizabeth reached up with her good hand and stroked his dirt-smeared cheek. "I'm fine." She winced as she said it.  
  
"Sure you are. Here." He placed his jacket gently around her.  
  
"Ouch.ouc.." She yelped as the heavy leather jacket made contact with her shoulder.  
  
"Sorry.sorry." Jason removed it as quickly as he had placed it there.  
  
"Calm down," she instructed seeing the tension filling his body. "Are you hurt?" she asked him wanting desperately to turn his attention away from her.  
  
"I'm fine." He reached for her right wrist to check her pulse. Some things from his life as Jason Quartermaine still lingered in the recesses of his mind.  
  
"Are you sure?" She asked again as the blaring siren barreled toward them in the distance.  
  
"It took them long enough." His agitation was written all over his face.  
  
"Jason," she spoke softly, "Don't maim them okay?" She laughed then groaned as the sound of her laughter echoed in her head.  
  
"Could you step back sir?" One of the EMTs asked before he placed himself between the patient and the man hovering next to her. Elizabeth gave him a gently nod and Jason did as he was asked.  
  
"Anger boy," Taggert's voice sliced through the night air. Jason stared at him as he always did. "Looks like you got some trouble here."  
  
"It was an accident!" Elizabeth piped in from the sidelines. "I was driving, not Jason." She so hated it when Taggert took every opportunity to harass him.  
  
"Is that so?" Taggert turned and gave her a questioning glance. "A little thing like you driving this massive motorcycle? Now that's a first. Who wants you dead now Morgan?"  
  
"I was driving!" Elizabeth tried to stand but that action caused a rush of pain through her left side and she let out a soft cry.  
  
"It's okay Elizabeth," Jason said in a quiet tone. He hated to see her in any sort of pain. "Taggert's just getting his rocks off." He turned again to stare at the lieutenant with a stone cold gaze. A gaze Jason knew drove Taggert crazy. "You heard the lady it was an accident."  
  
"We're ready to load up."  
  
Jason heard the paramedics say. "If we're done here, I'm going with Elizabeth."  
  
"How is it that you don't even have a scratch on you, Morgan?" Taggert inquired cocking his brow.  
  
"Jason," Elizabeth's voice called. "I need you to come with me."  
  
"I'll be right there. If you are finished or not I'm going." Jason climbed into the back of the ambulance leaving Taggert to watch after them.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The blonde wanna be Mob Boss sauntered into Kelly's surveying her surroundings. Immediately she was drawn to the dark haired man with his back to her sitting at the counter.  
  
"If you are waiting for your little wifey, I don't think she'll be here. There's been a little accident." Faith Roscoe purred in Ric Lansing's ear.  
  
Alarm flashed in his eyes. "What have you done to her?"  
  
"Me?" Faith said coyly. "For once not a damn thing and I still have the pleasure of enjoying it all from a distance." She giggled.  
  
Ric threw his money on the counter and reached for his coat. "Seems like her little ride with Jason Morgan ended up being rather eventful." Ric's face paled. Did she say ride with Jason? "What - you seem so shocked to hear that your little wifey still has a yearning for Sonny's borg? She's not worth your time Ric. Let Jason have her already. You and me we could set the world on fire - starting with Sonny."  
  
"Get out of my way Faith. I have to go to my wife." He pushed passed the over bearing blonde and exited the diner.  
  
"She doesn't want you anymore Ric. She doesn't want you!" She yelled to his retreating form. "But I do," she said softly as the door to Kelly's swung shut.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Jason," Monica's came up behind him.  
  
"How is she?"  
  
"Badly sprained wrist, dislocated shoulder.."  
  
"And her head? What about the gash on her forehead?" He pressed.  
  
"Tony wants to send her for a CAT scan but really it's only precautionary. From the looks of things she has a mild concussion."  
  
Jason finally let out a full breath. He had been waiting for what seemed like hours to find out how Elizabeth was.  
  
"How about you? Have you been looked at?" Monica asked her son.  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
"That doesn't answer my question. Has a doctor looked at you?"  
  
"I'm fine. When can I see her?" Jason needed to see with his own eyes that she was as fine as Monica said she was.  
  
"After you've seen a doctor yourself." Monica rested her hand against his side and saw him wince. "That's it - now! Get into exam 2."  
  
Jason raked his hand through his blonde hair and begrudgingly followed his mother behind the curtain.  
  
Twenty minutes later he emerged with his ribs tapped. The x-rays Monica ordered showed a hairline fracture.  
  
"Jason?" Sonny's voice questioned. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Elizabeth and I had an accident on my bike tonight."  
  
"What?" Sonny couldn't hide his surprise. Jason had always been able to handle his motorcycle. The thought of him being in an accident just didn't fit. "You okay? Elizabeth?"  
  
"I'm fine. Cracked ribs. She's got a sprained wrist, dislocated shoulder and a concussion. What are you doing here?" Jason asked.  
  
"Sonogram. Carly's with Dr. Meadows right now. So you think it was just an accident?" Sonny stressed his final word.  
  
"I don't know," Jason said honestly. "With all of the stuff going on at the warehouse lately, I don't know."  
  
"You think it was Faith?" Sonny questioned.  
  
"With me out of the way that would give her a clear shot at you. You know that's what she wants."  
  
"Dumb bitch!" Sonny growled. "Are you sure this isn't about Elizabeth? We know she's tried to hurt her before."  
  
"How would she know that Elizabeth would be me tonight?"  
  
"Well Jas, it's no secret that you have been spending a lot of time with Elizabeth since Emily died..."  
  
"So?" Jason interrupted him.  
  
"Well, I'm just saying for Faith maybe it was a way for her to kill two birds with one stone. You know what I mean?"  
  
"I guess." Jason had his own thoughts about it all but he knew that Sonny wouldn't want to hear them considering they involved his brother. "I'm going to assign another guard to Elizabeth. I think Max might need the back up."  
  
"Yeah - sure whatever. Listen I have to get up to Dr. Meadows office before Carly comes looking for me. You do what you have to do to protect Elizabeth."  
  
Jason let his head fall backward as Sonny walked away from him wondering if Sonny could live with what Jason wanted to do to protect her.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Ric closed the door to Elizabeth's room quietly. His eyes rested on her still frame lying in the bed. He let out a sigh of relief. She was alive. The scenarios that ran through his head between Kelly's and General Hospital were gruesome at best.  
  
She had a bandage wrapped around her wrist, arm in a sling and gauze covering what Ric assumed was a cut on her forehead, but she was breathing. He pulled a chair closer to the edge of the bed and watched her sleeping.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Jason," Monica approached him. "Tony just informed me the CAT scan on Elizabeth showed no abnormalities. She's going to be sore for awhile and have a hell of headache but she's fine. We've given her some medication for the pain so she should sleep most of the night."  
  
"Good." He hated to think of her in any kind of pain.  
  
"We're moving her to a room now. Tony thought it would be a good idea to keep her overnight for observation. She'll be released in the morning."  
  
"Can I see her?" he asked.  
  
"Yes, room 313"  
  
"Thanks Monica."  
  
"You're welcome."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Why? Why did you have to be with him?" he asked. "It wasn't supposed to be like this. You were supposed to come back to me." Gently Ric laid his hand across hers. "I love you, Elizabeth. Everything.all of it's been for you. I can be the man you need me to be if you would just give me the chance."  
  
Elizabeth stirred at bit suddenly restless.  
  
"I promise you that I'll change. I can do anything with you by my side. You're still my wife Elizabeth. Please let me be your husband."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jason stepped off the elevator and made his way to room 313.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!?!" Jason's voice echoed off the walls at the sight of Ric perched along Elizabeth's bedside. 


	14. The Struggle

Second Chances: The Struggle  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jason couldn't believe his eyes when he walked into Elizabeth's room. There he was, Ric Lansing, sitting next to her bed. The thunderous sound of his voice reverberated off the walls causing Ric to jump.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?"  
  
Ric stood and suddenly felt dwarfed before Jason Mogan's tall frame but he never relinquished the hold he had on Elizabeth's hand. He was still her husband no matter what a legal document happened to say to the contrary and he wasn't about to leave her side.  
  
"Get away from her!" Jason ordered as he stepped further into the room.  
  
"I'm not going anywhere."  
  
"The hell you're not! Apparently my little lesson this afternoon was lost on you. You won't be so lucky next time!" Jason grabbed Ric the way Max had at Kelly's that morning and started pushing him toward the open door. The sheer force of Jason's grip made Ric's arm ache.  
  
"Like it or not she's still my wife," Ric groaned in agony ignoring the memories that flashed through his mind of his time at the safe house with Johnny. Instead he relished using the word wife against Jason every chance he got. Just as expected the enforcer's eyes clouded with fury as he tightened his hold on Ric's shoulder to the point where he felt as if it might pop. "Having trouble with the truth are we?" Ric sneered. He didn't care that Jason was nearly breaking his arm. He couldn't stop himself. "She's my wife. Wife - Morgan do you get that? I have every right to be here!"  
  
"Like hell!" Jason's said jaw clenched. He watched Elizabeth stir in the bed before them. The last thing he wanted was for her to wake up to this scene. "Get the hell out of here!" With those words Jason shoved - nearly threw Ric from the room.  
  
He was stunned for a second as his body made contact with the metal doorframe. Ric shook his head and rolled his shoulder as a stabbing pain shot down his arm. That sensation was nothing compared to the one that ripped open his heart as he watched Jason take the seat he had occupied minutes before.  
  
"This is your fault," Ric stated as he stepped back into the room. "Someone's always trying to get to you or Sonny..."  
  
"You'd know wouldn't you," Jason cut him off.  
  
"It's your fault that Elizabeth is even in that bed. You could have gotten her killed tonight." Ric edged closer to them.  
  
Jason wasn't about to let Ric bait him. He had rationalized so many times before that Elizabeth was better off without him. She'd be out of danger if he would just stay clear of her, but ultimately that had never been the case at all. No matter what, the enemies in his and Sonny's life knew what their weaknesses were and exploited them. He finally came to realize that Elizabeth was safer with him than without him, especially now.  
  
"You're the one that's almost let her die," Jason said coldly. "You let her drink poison cause you were so afraid of ruining your plan to steal Carly and Sonny's baby. She was in a coma and nearly died of a pulmonary embolism because you wanted Sonny's child more than you wanted your own! How sick and twisted is that Ric?"  
  
Ric eyed his rival quietly. He had no comeback for those remarks. They were completely true. He had put Elizabeth at risk so many times and he had just done it again. His single-minded desire never failed to skew his good judgment. He let his jealousy swallow him whole.  
  
"She's still my wife. I have a right to be here," he said more softly this time. No matter what pang of conscious he may have just had, Ric wasn't about to hand Elizabeth over gracefully.  
  
"You're unbelievable!" Jason laughed even though there was not a stitch of humor to its sound. "You selfish bastard!" Jason stood up and lunged toward Ric knocking him squarely into the wall.  
  
Elizabeth heard the commotion going on around her but she felt as if she was in some sort of fog. She knew she knew the voices but their sounds were jumbled at best. It was finally Jason's angry voice that forced her eyes to open. It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the bright overhead light but then she saw them - Jason and Ric. She made her best attempt at sitting up but the pain in her shoulder and swimming feeling in her head kept her down.  
  
"Jason," she nearly whispered.  
  
That soft sound was all it took for Jason to drop his hold on Ric and move to her side. Ric stood blankly staring at the man who by all rights could have killed him with his bare hands just seconds before. Now he was delicately holding Elizabeth's hand.  
  
"What's going on?" she asked.  
  
"Nothing, Ric was just leaving," Jason said looking back at his nemesis.  
  
"Elizabeth," Ric cleared his throat and moved to the end of her bed. "I heard about the accident. I wanted to be sure you were all right. I am still your husband." Ric's dark eyes implored her to understand.  
  
"I'm fine. You can go now," she said matter of fact.  
  
"I'd like to stay with you. It's my right as your.."  
  
Jason stopped him before he could use the word husband again. "She told you to go."  
  
"I don't want you to stay," she stated.  
  
Those words pained him and the closeness the pair before him shared made his heart want to stop.  
  
"Elizabeth," Desperation consumed Ric's voice. "Elizabeth, please. You could have died tonight. Please let me stay." He almost begged.  
  
"Just go!" Elizabeth raised her voice hoping that he would understand.  
  
"It's his fault." Ric pointed directly at Jason. "It's his fault that you were even out there tonight. It's his fault that you could have died."  
  
"It was an accident, Ric." Elizabeth stressed as she heard Taggert's earlier acquisitions all over again.  
  
"Nothing in his life is an accident." Ric stressed. "When are you going to see that?"  
  
"And when are you going to see that it's over, Ric?"  
  
"She asked you to leave." Jason finally spoke sensing that Elizabeth was putting up a brave front and she was just about to break. Monica had said she was fine but to Jason she didn't look it. She was still extremely pale.  
  
"I'm not leaving!" Ric stood his ground. "I have more right to be here than you do. I'm her husband.H-U-S-B-A-N-D." He spelled out the word as though Jason hadn't understood it the first dozen times he had said it.  
  
Jason dropped Elizabeth's hand and again had Ric by the throat unable to contain himself against the man's absurd arrogance any longer.  
  
"What the hell." Both Tony Jones and Monica Quartermaine said in unison as they entered Elizabeth's room.  
  
"Ric was just leaving," Jason said once more as he ushered him toward the door.  
  
"Dr. Jones.Dr. Jones." Ric addressed Tony since he knew he wouldn't have any leverage with Monica. She certainly would side with her son. "Elizabeth is my wife. I have the right to be here."  
  
Tony rolled his eyes. If all that he had heard about Ric Lansing and his offenses were true he completely understood Jason's manhandling of him. "Elizabeth." The doctor turned to his patient. "Would you rather Ric stay or should he leave?"  
  
"I'd like him to go."  
  
Ric hung his head in defeat her words like a knife in the chest.  
  
"Well then Mr. Lansing, I believe it's time that you were going. Besides visiting hours have long since been over," Tony said.  
  
"He's staying?" Ric pointed to Jason.  
  
"Yes, he's staying," Elizabeth spoke before anyone had the chance to object. "I want him to stay, Tony." She smiled slightly.  
  
"I'll clear it with Alan," Tony replied.  
  
"Thank you." Elizabeth reached for Jason as he made his way back to her side.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Monica closed the door behind her when she finished her examination satisfied that Elizabeth was in good hands for the evening. She made a note on the chart that Ric Lansing wasn't to be allowed into the room.  
  
"Are you okay?" Jason asked when all was finally quiet.  
  
"Yes, I'm fine. How about you, did you let anyone check you out from the accident?"  
  
"I'm fine. A couple of cracked ribs but it's fine."  
  
"I'm sorry about all of that with Ric." Elizabeth lamented.  
  
"You don't have anything to be sorry for."  
  
"He didn't have any right to blame you for the accident. I know it wasn't your fault. I was the one driving."  
  
"Don't worry about it, okay?" Jason had his own suspicions about the accident but he chose not to share them at the moment. He didn't want to worry her any more than she was. "Just rest. You look like you need to sleep." He still didn't like how pale she looked to him.  
  
"I am tried."  
  
"Then sleep. I'll be right here."  
  
Elizabeth bit at her lower lip debating to ask her question.  
  
"What?" Jason asked knowing that she had something on her mind. Her nervous habit was a dead give away.  
  
"Could you just hold me?" She knew she sounded ridiculous but she needed to feel his arms around her just the same.  
  
"Sure." Jason didn't waste a second climbing in beside her. He was careful not to disturb her shoulder or wrist.  
  
Enveloped in his strong arms she felt secure and laid her head against his chest. Elizabeth listened to steady beat of Jason's heart beneath her ear and let the rhythm lull her to sleep. 


	15. Friends & Enemies

Second Chances: Friends & Enemies  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sonny could hear his wife and Dr. Meadows as they spoke yet his thoughts were wholly focused on his earlier conversation with Jason. The idea that he and Elizabeth had been in an accident while riding his motorcycle left Sonny dumbfounded. He couldn't wrap his mind around that idea. An accident of any kind involving Jason and a motorcycle made little sense to Sonny.  
  
"Sonny.Sonny?" Carly's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Dr. Meadows wants to know if we want a video of our sonogram?"  
  
"Huh?" Sonny was obviously distracted.  
  
"Do you want a video of the sonogram? I think Michael would love it."  
  
"Sure.yeah. That's fine."  
  
"I'll have one for you in a few minutes." Dr. Meadows turned on her heel and headed back to her office.  
  
"Sonny, what's wrong?" Carly laid her hand against his cheek. She saw her husband eyes clouded with a perplexity she couldn't quite understand. Their baby had just been given a clean bill of health, something that they both had been waiting to hear for weeks now. Carly couldn't conceive why Sonny's expression was far from the happy one she thought it should be at the news.  
  
"Nothing," he said sounding less than convincing to her. He didn't want to concern her with what happened to Jason that evening even though Sonny knew she would be upset about being kept in the dark.  
  
"Don't give me nothing. I know something is wrong. You don't have to worry, the baby is fine. You don't have to worry about the him," Carly had taken to calling their child him. She was confident that they would be having a son. "anymore. Dr. Meadows said everything is good." Carly reassured him as she cupped his face in her hands and kissed him softly. "I love you."  
  
Sonny took her hand in his own and lead her to the fifth floor elevator. "I love you too," he said with a slight smile.  
  
"Sonny, what's going on?" She pressed as the elevator doors closed leaving them to the quiet inside. "Don't you dare tell me nothing!" Her eyes narrowed knowing that her husband was concealing something.  
  
"It's business. You know I can't discuss it with you." Sonny spoke the truth. He did see what happened to Jason as business - in the form of Faith Roscoe and her never ending attempts at grabbing something that was never meant to be hers.  
  
"It's more than business. What's going on?" The blonde wasn't letting go of her suspicions. Something in her gut told her there was more to it than Sonny was saying.  
  
"Will you just drop it Carly?" Sonny's voice was a little harsher than he had intended. The wide-eyed look that that response elicited from his wife had him stepping back. "I'm sorry," he said quickly capturing her swollen form in his arms.  
  
"What's wrong sweetie?" Carly knew this was much more than just normal business. She kissed his check gently to show she wasn't upset by his outburst. She had grown accustomed to his mood swings in their years of marriage.  
  
Knowing that his wife wasn't about to let it drop, he turned and gazed at her sure she would over react in true Carly fashion. "Jason was..."  
  
"Oh my god, Sonny is he hurt? What happened? Where is he?" Her alarm spilled forth in a rapid succession of questions.  
  
"Breathe, Carly, breathe. Jason's fine. He wasn't badly hurt, a couple of cracked ribs.."  
  
"I want to see him."  
  
"It's not a good time," Sonny said. He knew that Jason wouldn't be leaving Elizabeth's side and the combination of Carly, Elizabeth and Jason tended to have explosive results.  
  
"What do you mean it's not a good time?" She gave him a quizzical glance.  
  
"Let's just go home Carly. Good report from Dr. Meadows or not you still need to rest," he said in an attempt to placate her.  
  
"Sonny what aren't you telling me? Is Jason really okay?" Carly couldn't hide her growing concern. "You're scaring me."  
  
"He's fine," he said as he thwarted her attempt at making the elevator take them back up to the hospital.  
  
"I want to see for myself."  
  
"Johnny bring the car around front." Sonny gave instructions to the guard.  
  
"Right away Mr. Corinthos."  
  
"Sonny.." Carly pouted like a child.  
  
"We're going home Carly," he said firmly.  
  
Carly sat in the limo with her arms cross against her chest keeping her distance from her husband. She hated when he kept something from her. Business was one thing but Jason was something entirely different.  
They rode in silence back to the Harbor View Towers. She watched Sonny stare blankly out the blackened window lost in thought. She could see the wheels in his mind turning as he tried to make sense out of whatever was going on. Not knowing was eating her alive inside.  
  
"Max?" Sonny questioned shocked to see the man he knew should have been guarding Elizabeth Webber about to get into his car.  
  
"Yeah boss?" Max walked over to Mr. and Mrs. Corinthos.  
  
"What are you doing here? Why aren't you at the hospital? Why aren't you watching Elizabeth?"  
  
"Elizabeth?" Carly did little to disguise the surprise in her voice yet both men chose to ignore her.  
  
"Jason told me to go home and get cleaned up. He was going to be staying with her tonight.."  
  
"Jason?" Carly wasn't about to be disregarded a moment longer. "Elizabeth - Jason - Sonny what the hell's going on?"  
  
Max wanted to back away. He could only imagine the fury that was about to erupt. Elizabeth Webber was a sore spot for Sonny's wife and when Jason Morgan was added it turned into a festering wound.  
  
"Are you going back in the morning?" Sonny questioned still paying his wife's impending tirade no mind.  
  
"Yeah. Jason said she should be released late morning. I should be there for that."  
  
"SONNY!" Carly's voice sounded like fingernails scraping against a chalkboard to both men.  
  
Max gave his boss a look as if to say 'hey sorry man' before he walked back to his car. This was one of many times that he was glad that he had been in charge of Elizabeth and not Carly.  
  
"Are you ready to go upstairs?" Sonny asked his wife as though the entire exchange between he, she and Max hadn't taken place. That only served to fuel Carly's ire.  
  
"NO! What the hell is going on? Why is Jason with Elizabeth? What are they doing together in the hospital?" Before Sonny could speak Carly continued. "Oh my god. they were together. That accident - they were together. That's why you wouldn't let me go see Jason cause he was with her!" Carly couldn't even bring herself to say Elizabeth's name in the same sentence as Jason's.  
  
"Yes, Jason and Elizabeth were together tonight. And yes that's why I didn't let you go check in on Jason. None of us needed round eight hundred fifty between the two of you." Sonny said sarcastically.  
  
"I can't believe you are defending her! After everything - you are still defending her!" Carly stood flabbergasted as she looked at her husband. "She lived in that house while I was Ric's prisoner, she never listened to anything anyone told her about her psycho husband.."  
  
"Carly, enough, enough already. We have been over this a million times. Elizabeth isn't to blame. You know it and I know it. She's the one that got you out of that room of god sakes!"  
  
Sonny had grown weary having this same tired argument with his wife. He had had a soft spot for Elizabeth Webber ever since she had nursed Jason back to health when he had wanted nothing to do with either Carly or himself. If it hadn't been for her his best friend would have surely died that day in the snow. For Sonny he would always be indebted to her even if his wife couldn't understand why.  
  
Carly turned away from him and headed toward the elevator that would take her to their penthouse. Jason and Elizabeth - Jason and Elizabeth, it rang in her head like the clanging of a church bell. It wasn't like she hadn't seen it coming. It had always been there - the love they shared even when they tried to deny it, but that didn't mean that Carly had to accept it.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Ric slammed the door and the house shook around him. He couldn't contain his wrath any longer. The fact that Elizabeth had all but thrown him out of her hospital room gnawed away at his very core. He closed his eyes but all he could see dancing against the dark canvas of his mind was the two of them holding one another. It sickened him.  
Jason Morgan had perched himself in what should have been his rightful place at Elizabeth's side. He was the one providing her comfort and safety. Ric felt the tears attempting to nudge their way from his dark eyes. He wouldn't allow them release. He pushed them back with all his might. He wasn't defeated yet. This was but a minor set back. Elizabeth would come to her senses. She would see that he was the man for her not Jason Morgan, not Sonny's henchman. If she couldn't see it on her own, he would make her see it.  
  
He picked up the remote control and pushed the button that allowed the hidden panel that lead to the panic room to slide open. He saw the baby mobile hanging from the shelf, the crib that was to hold the child he and Elizabeth were to be the parents of, the little bear that he had given her the day after they were married.  
He looked back into the living room and recalled the day he had told Elizabeth about the gallery showing he had arranged for her. He smiled remembering how he felt when she threw her arms around him and held him close. He mused about making love in every room of this house. This was their dream. This was his chance at a better life.  
  
"Reminiscing?" Faith's sultry voice came up from behind him.  
  
"What the hell do you want?" he barked startled that he hadn't even heard her enter the house.  
  
"You," Faith replied direct and to the point as she dropped her trench coat to the floor revealing a black lacy teddy and garter.  
  
"Go away Faith. I love my wife!"  
  
"And she loves Jason Morgan - or did that simple fact slip your mind?" Her tone was caustic.  
  
Ric pushed her words from his brain. He couldn't, wouldn't let himself think about that.  
  
"We could rock this town Ric. The five families - Sonny they wouldn't know what hit them. We can have it all you and me. Elizabeth can never give you want I can. She can't see you for the man that you really are. But I can. I can help you get everything you have ever wanted.."  
  
At those words Ric had stopped listening to Faith even though she continued her banter. He was stuck at the statement that she could help him get everything he ever wanted. Maybe she could at that, he thought to himself.  
He looked into her deep blue eyes and part of him knew exactly how to play her. And if he did it just right no one including Faith Roscoe would know what hit them. 


	16. Confessions

Second Chances: Confessions  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jason opened his eyes and saw Elizabeth resting comfortably in his arms. The horrible events of the night before came tumbling back to him. He lowered his head to hers and drank in the soft scent of vanilla that was Elizabeth. He exhaled deeply relieved that she hadn't been severely injured in the accident. He couldn't imagine what it would have been like if he had lost her. The sudden realization that he needed her in his life more than he had ever been able to admit to himself before was freeing and frightening at the same time.  
  
He watched as the sun climbed high into the morning sky. The sunrise was bright, full of life and cast a pink hue among the mist that hung in the heavens. Absently he found himself wondering how Elizabeth would describe it to him. He never tired of hearing her explanation of things. He marveled at her zest and excitement.  
That was one of the things he loved about her. She could make even the simplest things new for him. Jason brushed his lips against her soft locks and settled back to watch the sunrise finish its ascent.  
  
He felt Elizabeth stir slightly in his arms. "Hey," he said when she finally opened her eyes. Immediately he saw discomfort wash over her features. "You okay?" he asked softly.  
  
"Um huh," she murmured not convincing Jason in the least bit. The thumping in her head reminded her of the time she and Emily had gotten into the Quartermaine's liquor cabinet and decided that drinking a bottle and a half of scotch between them was a good thing. She did her best to reposition herself in bed but in doing so a stabbing pain shot through her shoulder making her wince.  
  
"Easy," Jason said as he removed himself from the bed to assist her. "That better?" he asked once she was sitting up.  
  
"Much, thank you."  
  
"You need anything?"  
  
"No. Did you stay with me all night?" she questioned surveying his rumpled clothes and blonde stubble poking out from his cheeks.  
  
"Yeah. I couldn't leave," Jason said openly as he took her hand in his own.  
  
Elizabeth softly smiled at his reply as her heart swelled. "Thank you for staying." She had forgotten what it was like to wake up with him there. When he was recovering from his gunshot wound waking up together had been a normal occurrence, one that Elizabeth missed when he was no longer there.  
  
"You sure you're okay?" She still looked awfully pale to him.  
  
"Well if I can ignore the pounding in him head and the throbbing in my left arm, I'd say I'm great," she joked.  
  
"Be serious," he said. "Are you really okay?"  
  
"I'm fine Jason, really." Elizabeth did her best to reassure him yet concern consumed his ice blue eyes.  
  
"I see our patient is awake," Monica's voice startled them both. "How are you feeling this morning Elizabeth?"  
  
"Sore."  
  
"That's to be expected. You will probably feel like that for a few weeks actually."  
  
"Can you give her something for the pain?" Jason interrupted.  
  
Monica turned to look at her son. She smiled slightly. It was so evident the depth of feeling he carried for Elizabeth Webber. "Yes, we can certainly give her some medication for her discomfort."  
  
"Good."  
  
"When can I go home?" Elizabeth asked.  
  
"Tony is working on your release papers right now. So it shouldn't be much longer. I think it would be best if you weren't alone for the next few days. You are going to need some help, at least until your shoulder and wrist heal a bit."  
  
"She'll be staying with me." Jason immediately spoke up much to Elizabeth and Monica's surprise.  
  
"Okay, well as soon as Tony finishes up with the paperwork you will be able to go. Just take it easy for the next few days. Understand?"  
  
"She will." Again Jason spoke for her.  
  
Once Monica was out of the room Elizabeth turned and stared at him. One part of her was thrilled by Jason's need to protect her but another was infuriated by it. "I can go back to my studio. I don't really need to stay at your penthouse."  
  
Jason felt his heart sink. He wanted more than anything to take care of her, do for her what she had done for him. "You heard Monica, you shouldn't be alone."  
  
"I won't be. Isn't that what I have Max for?"  
  
"Someone say my name?" Max asked as he entered the room carrying a bag of fresh clothes for Elizabeth.  
  
"Morning Max," Elizabeth grinned at him. "Those for me?"  
  
"Yeah, Mr. Morgan asked me to drop by your place and pick up a few of your things."  
  
"I thought you might like a change of clothes," Jason said.  
  
"Thank you." She grazed her hand against his sensing that he was disappointed that she didn't want to stay with him. It wasn't as if she didn't want to stay with Jason. In fact that's all she wanted but for once she wanted it to be for no other reason than that the two of them both wanted it. She didn't want it to be tied to some catastrophe like the times before.  
  
"You're welcome." Jason moved across the room and Elizabeth instantly wished she had just agreed to what he wanted. Why did it seem like they were forever playing this game? Just as she was about to speak Dr. Jones breezed into the room.  
  
"Well you're all set. Here is a prescription for some pain medication. Take it only when you really need it and I would like to see you in a week or so just for some follow up. If you are feeling up to it we might start you on a little physical therapy for your shoulder."  
  
"Thanks, Tony," Elizabeth said as she reached for the prescription in his hand.  
  
"Would you like Maxie or Georgie to come in and help you get dressed?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah that'd be fine." Instantly Elizabeth eyes locked with Jason's and she wondered if he was thinking the same thing? Thinking that she wanted him to be the one to help her.  
  
"We'll be right outside," Jason said as he and Max exited the room. "Max can get this filled for you." Jason took the thin piece of paper from her hand. Their fingers barely touched but it was enough to cause Elizabeth to shiver with excitement.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"All ready," Elizabeth said as she approached Jason in the corridor.  
  
"Max is bringing the car around," Jason said his voice almost sounding detached.  
  
"Guess no more rides for awhile huh?" She tried to lighten the mood to no avail.  
  
"Probably not."  
  
Elizabeth followed Jason into the awaiting elevator and then into the black sedan parked at the curb. Neither one of them said a word. Occasionally Max glanced at the pair from the rearview mirror. He didn't like what he saw. Both were perched on opposite ends of the back seat as far away from one another as they could get. Jason was staring straight ahead with his famous blank expression etched on his face and Elizabeth was gazing out the window watching the Port Charles scenery as it went by. 'Damn,' Max thought to himself.  
  
Elizabeth noticed Marco standing by her studio door as they made their way up the staircase. "What's he doing here?" she questioned.  
  
"He will be on duty with Max," Jason said flatly.  
  
"What? Why? Why two guards now?" Elizabeth did little to hide the alarm in her voice.  
  
He hated the fear he heard in her voice and saw on her face. "It's necessary."  
  
"Necessary?" she parroted. "Why?" She was anxious for an answer.  
  
"Let's get you inside, okay?" Jason turned the key in the lock and ushered her into the small studio. "Sit down, please." He was trying his best to conceal his concern for her but his steely mask was faltering.  
  
"Jason, what's going on?" she asked.  
  
Max closed the door behind him and left them in private hoping that his boss wouldn't blow it with her once again.  
  
"Nothing, nothing's going on. I just think you should be sitting down. You sure you feel all right?" He placed his hand against her cheek as she had done to him so many times in the past.  
  
"I'm fine." Elizabeth was more than a little confused by how he could change directions so quickly. One moment he was detached and distant and the next he was filled with concern and worry for her. It was making her head swim. "Would you please come and sit with me?" she asked.  
  
Jason complied with her request and settled himself down on what he considered his side of her little sofa. The sat quietly for a few minutes neither sure what the other wanted to hear. Finally Elizabeth spoke. "Jason, what's going on?" She repeated her earlier question. "Did I do something? Are you upset with me cause I.."  
  
"No!" He cut her off before she had a chance to finish. "No, I'm not upset with you."  
  
"Then what? What is it?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"Jason, please, please don't do that with me. Don't hide. What's wrong? Why do I need two guards now? Why are you so distant all of the sudden?"  
  
No matter how hard he tried he had never been able to hide anything from her. It upset him but overall it was their connection that had kept him going more times than not. He reached across the sofa his hand swallowing hers. He rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand in small gentle circles searching for the right words.  
  
"Jason, what is it? You're starting to scare me," she admitted openly.  
  
"I'm scared too." Elizabeth pulled back. She had never once heard Jason admit to ever being afraid of anything. He had always been her rock. "I was so scared I was going to lose you last night. Right after the accident.," his words faltered, ".I couldn't find you at first then you wouldn't wake up. You don't know what it was like Elizabeth to watch you lying there on the ground not moving.."  
  
Ignoring the pounding in her head and the ache that depleted the left side of her body, Elizabeth moved closer to him. "I'm fine, everything is okay," she said gently squeezing his hand. She knew exactly how he was feeling for she had felt the same. The night of the Valentine's day fire at Sonny's warehouse when she stood outside breathlessly waiting for Jason and Sonny to emerge from the flames and rubble. She had been terrified. She could see that terror reflected in Jason's eyes.  
  
"It's not fine. It's never fine! There is always some sort of danger, someone with a score to settle. You are always going to be caught in the cross fire of my life." Jason nearly choked on the cries he wouldn't allow release.  
  
"Please don't say what I know you are going to say." Elizabeth had heard this speech time and time again. It went something like this, that his life was too dangerous for her to be a part of it, that they couldn't be friends, that there would be no more rides, no more talks - nothing. "Please don't tell me we can't see each other anymore." It was now her turn to surpress tears.  
  
Jason ran his other hand through his blonde hair and watched as the tears pooled in her deep blue eyes. "I can't do that. I can't not not see you. I don't think I'd survive it."  
  
"What?" Elizabeth was noticeably shocked by his reply.  
  
"I've tried for years now to do the right thing. I've tried to push you out of my life but something always propels us together. I can't fight it anymore. I can't fight what I feel for you. I love you, Elizabeth."  
  
Those words brought silence to the room. She couldn't believe what she had heard. How she had longed to hear those words from him forever. That he loved her. Jason Morgan loved her.  
  
"I love you too, Jason" she whispered. Both appeared stunned by the others revelation. "I never thought after all that I did you could ever love me."  
  
"I've loved you for a long time. I planned on telling you that first time I came back to Port Charles. But when you told me Lucky was back, I just couldn't do that to you. I knew what Lucky meant to you and I didn't want to mess that up for you." All those feelings Jason had been holding in for so long came spilling out like a damn that had released its flood gates. "I knew I shouldn't have asked you to go away with me but I couldn't help myself. I tried like hell to respect your wishes about your not being able to see me anymore. That killed me inside, Elizabeth. Then the whole mess with Sonny faking his death and then Ric.."  
  
"Sshh," Elizabeth placed her finger against his lips to silence him. "I've known that I loved you Jason, since the night of the fire at Sonny's warehouse. Lucky tried to lead me away saying - I can't even remember now, but I couldn't leave. I couldn't leave until I knew you were safe. Then when you came out of the building all I wanted to do was run into your arms. I knew at that moment I loved you but my loyalty to what I had with Lucky got in the way." She let out a heavy sigh. They both had wasted so much precious time dancing around one another. She didn't want to waste anymore. On that note Elizabeth leaned in and kissed him catching Jason completely off guard.  
  
Jason felt her soft lips against his own and instantly melted into her warm touch. He still couldn't believe all that she had said. She loved him too. Elizabeth Webber loved him. The thought sent his emotions to high he never thought them capable of. He felt the need to deepen their kiss and let his tongue gently probe her lips until gaining access. He heard a slight moan escape from Elizabeth's mouth as their tongues began a lazy duel. Jason ran his hand along the features of her face. With each feathery touch of his fingers she felt waves of excitement pulse through her.  
  
"I love you," she whispered as her digits explored his rock hard chest. She wound her hand around his neck drawing him as close as her injured arm would allow. Neither could get enough of each other. Without much thought Jason reclined his body allowing Elizabeth's to follow. The sensation of her on top of him had him growing with arousal. With a feverish pace he began kissing her neck until she winced in pain when he reached her wounded shoulder.  
  
"I'm sorry," he immediately said. "Did I hurt you?" His lust for her suddenly replaced by concern.  
  
"You could never hurt me, Jason." Elizabeth stroked his face with her hand doing her best to allay his worries.  
  
"Here let me help you." Gently he assisted her in sitting back up. He scolded himself for his loss of self control. He should have known better, yet the declaration of their feelings had his head spinning.  
  
"Jason, I'm fine really." She laughed. "Is this how I looked?"  
  
"Huh?" he responded.  
  
"Did I look like this fussing over you?"  
  
"Maybe a little," he grinned slightly for being caught in the act.  
  
"Well at least I had good reason. You were shot. I'm just a lousy driver."  
  
Before Jason could respond to that comment his cell phone rang. Elizabeth listened to his side of the conversation and knew that he would have to go take care of one thing or another. Yet this time is was different. Yes she still was still afraid for him - the work that he did for Sonny was dangerous to say the least but knowing how he felt about her finally gave her an odd sense of peace.  
  
"I've got to go," he said reluctantly. The last thing he wanted to do was leave her.  
  
"I thought that you might."  
  
"I'm really sorry..."  
  
"Don't be. You go. The sooner you go the sooner you will be back, right?"  
  
"You sure you don't want Max to take you to the penthouse?" Jason questioned. He would have been much more comfortable knowing that she was safe there than here in her studio.  
  
"I'm fine here, really."  
  
"I'll be back as soon as I can. You need anything - I mean anything you have Max or Marco take care of it. You need to rest."  
  
"Yes sir." She gave him a mock salute and a little giggle.  
  
"Bye." He leaned in and kissed her goodbye.  
  
"Bye."  
  
Elizabeth watched the door close behind him. In the stillness of the studio she replayed what had just transpired between them. There was a part of her that couldn't believe that they were finally at a place where they had told one another the truth. Emily would have been proud, since she had said all along that her brother and best friend were a perfect match.  
  
She felt her shoulder beginning to get stiffen. She knew it was time for a pain pill. She felt shaky as she stood up from her place on the sofa. She reached for the art table near by to balance herself. The room finally steadied around her. "Must have just gotten up too fast," she said aloud.  
  
It was then that she heard a ruckus just beyond the heavy steel door. "Max, what's going on?" she asked as she opened it.  
  
"Nothing, Miss Webber. I'm handling it."  
  
Elizabeth saw a skinny young man dressed in suit at the other end of Max's long arm. "Max put him down."  
  
"Miss Web..."  
  
"Put him down Max."  
  
Max reluctantly complied with her request even though Jason had told him that no one was to get past him.  
  
"What's going on?" she asked again.  
  
"He says he has a delivery for you." Max was skeptical. He had seen his fair share of bogus deliveries.  
  
"I do." The young man assured her.  
  
"What is it?" Elizabeth asked.  
  
"I'm from Ms. Davis' office. She said you'd be expecting these." He held out an envelope for them to see.  
  
Those must have been her divorce papers. Alexis had said she would be sending them over for her review. "It's fine Max. They're my divorce papers. I'll take them." She reached out and took the envelope from the messenger. "Wait," she said as he was about to leave. "Let me grab my purse." Elizabeth intended on tipping him.  
  
"I've got it Miss Webber," Max said as he pulled a twenty dollar bill from the wad of money in his pocket.  
  
"Thank you and call me Elizabeth, please."  
  
"Sorry, Elizabeth it is."  
  
She closed the door behind her and held the manila envelope tightly in her hand. This was it, the end of her farce of a marriage to Ric Lansing. She let a heavy sigh escape her lungs. Elizabeth laid the package on the table in front of her and opened the clasp with her uninjured hand. She turned the envelope end over end and rather than the documents she was looking for spilling out shredded paper dropped on the table.  
  
"What the?" She ran her fingers through the strips of paper. They indeed were her divorce papers. It was then that she saw the typed note.  
  
You can't get rid of me that easily. 


	17. Reactions

Second Chances: Reactions  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jason felt cramped behind the wheel of the sedan that he had burrowed from the fleet of vehicles Corinthos-Morgan Coffee owned. He missed the freedom he felt when he was on his motorcycle. He looked up and immediately found the little window of Elizabeth's studio. He hated leaving her - not when they had by some miracle found their way back to one another. He hadn't believed that there would ever be a chance for that again. Something was different this time. He felt it. There was contentment in the both of them that hadn't been there before. Maybe it was because each of them had finally said what they had been feeling for years now rather than letting themselves get lost in what they thought the other needed or wanted. Whatever the reason Jason was relishing it. He pulled away from the curb and headed off to meet Sonny.  
  
"What'd you need? I don't like leaving.." Jason stopped abruptly as one of the men threw back a tarp revealing his mangled motorcycle. His eyes widened at the site of the distorted wreckage. The night of the accident he hadn't noticed how badly contorted and misshapen it truly was. "Oh man," he groaned as he ran his hands across his face.  
  
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Sonny asked. "That you're damn lucky to be alive?" Sonny looked at his best friend and thanked the heavens above that both he and Elizabeth had come out of the accident with as little physically wrong with them as they had. He knew that he couldn't have survived losing the man who was like a brother to him and moreover Sonny was certain that Jason wouldn't have survived it if anything had happened to Elizabeth.  
  
Jason purposely ignored Sonny's question. He couldn't let himself think about how close they could have come to not walking away from that accident. Visions of Elizabeth lying motionless on the pavement still taunted him and the sight of the crumpled pieces of steel drove those visions home. "How'd you get it here?" Jason asked as he made his way over to the bike. "I figured Taggert would want to go over it with a fine tooth comb."  
  
"I called in a few favors," Sonny said. "I wanted our guys to check it out to see if they could come up with what might have happened."  
  
"And?"  
  
"Well they haven't looked at it yet. I thought you might like first crack at it. You did run that bike shop for awhile."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Jason knelt down along side what now were merely pieces of his motorcycle. He ran his hands along the creased chrome. The image of his face was distorted in the shattered mirrors. He hated to admit to himself but it felt as though a piece of him had died. That bike had been his ticket to freedom when the Quartermaines wanted to tie him down. It had been the place where he had learned how to see the wind. It was the place where he had undoubtedly fallen in love with Elizabeth. He felt like a small piece of him was gone somehow.  
  
"Anything?" Sonny was anxious for answers.  
  
"Not sure." Jason didn't let on that he hadn't even begun to survey the motorcycle for possible causes of the accident.  
The sequence of events leading up to the crash was merely a blur to him. It was difficult to piece together what might have happened for him to even begin to know where to start looking for the culprit. Finally after fifteen minutes of intense concentration, Jason's fingers found their way to the only thing that could have caused such destruction.  
He knelt down and eyed the links of the chain that drove the rear wheel of the bike. Sonny took notice of Jason's unwavering stare at a part of the machinery that he knew nothing about. "So you find something?" Sonny asked when Jason didn't offer an immediate explanation.  
  
"Yeah - I think so." Jason brought the chain over to the shipping area of the warehouse and stretched it out across one of the long tables. It had been wound so tightly around the rear wheel that it took a few minutes to straighten it.  
  
"Well?" Sonny prodded.  
  
"See this?" Jason showed him the end of the chain.  
  
"Yeah, so?" Sonny hadn't a clue what he was even looking at much less why it was the potential problem.  
  
"That's the master link. It holds the drive chain together. Look at it - it's been pried apart. Enough to make it loose."  
  
"Maybe that happened in the accident." Sonny still didn't understand the significance.  
  
"Not likely. Look at the rest of the chain. Even with how distorted it is from the accident all of the links are still in tact. This was intentional."  
  
"Okay - I'm still not getting it," Sonny said honestly. "Bikes are your thing not mine."  
  
"This link," Jason held out the master link in the palm of his hand. "it holds the chain together. If it comes loose in any way, as the motorcycle speeds down the road eventually the link will pop apart and the chain inevitably wraps itself around the back wheel and throws the bike out from under you."  
  
"And that's what happened to you and Elizabeth?"  
  
"Exactly. It was like there was nothing I could do to stop it. And there wasn't since the drive chain wasn't there anymore."  
  
"And this couldn't have happened any other way than someone messing with the bike?" Sonny questioned.  
  
"Master links just don't come loose Sonny." Jason knew he sounded frustrated but he couldn't help himself. It was one thing for someone wanting to eradicate him from the picture, he was accustomed to that. However it was something entirely different when Elizabeth got caught up in the action.  
Jason's immediate reaction was to move as far away from her as he could get. Old habits died hard for him. All he wanted was to keep her safe and out of harm's way yet suddenly knowing how she felt, that she loved him, made what was once normal null and void.  
  
"Jason?" Sonny's voice broke his train of thought.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I said I think it's time we paid Ms. Roscoe a little visit. I'm done playing games with her."  
  
"What if it wasn't Faith?" Jason knew he was treading into choppy waters with where he intended on taking this conversation but he needed to.  
  
"Of course it was Faith," Sonny said in his matter of fact tone. "She's knows to get to me she needs to remove you. It's just like her."  
  
"Maybe, but it - something just doesn't feel right."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Faith, she loves to grandstand. She loves to flaunt her tactics in everyone's face. She gets a cheap thrill out of it..."  
  
"Yeah so?"  
  
"Well, if she was responsible for this. Where is she? I would think she's be knocking down your door showing you how easy it was for her to get to me. She's not Sonny. It wasn't her."  
  
Sonny leaned against the table and digested Jason's remarks. Part of him knew that Jason was right. Faith Roscoe would have been all over this gloating by now and she wasn't. It would have been so much easier for Sonny if she had.  
"Well who then? Who would want to come at me through you, now?"  
  
"Maybe this isn't about you," Jason said pointedly.  
  
"Who then?"  
  
"Elizabeth."  
  
"Well then we are back to Faith. She's already tried to kill her several times. What's one more?"  
  
"I think it's Ric," Jason announced finally seeing he had no other choice.  
  
"Ric? What the hell for?"  
  
"Elizabeth. He can't deal with losing her. You saw him at Emily's funeral and there have been other times he's approached her. I think he's looking for a way to get me out of the picture. He sees me as a threat."  
  
"Well to him you are. Hell half of Port Charles can see what the two of you feel for one another, even if you are both too damn scared to admit it."  
  
"Not anymore."  
  
"What?" Sonny did little to hide his astonishment.  
  
"After the accident - well I couldn't imagine losing her. I finally just told her what I was feeling. I love her, Sonny. I have for a long time now. And the funny thing she loves me back."  
  
"Good for you man. It's about damn time!" Sonny was genuinely happy for his friend. He deserved a good life with a woman who loved him. Elizabeth was that woman.  
  
"Thanks," Jason said.  
  
"Still though, Faith is our best shot. I can't see Ric in this alone. If it's even him at all. Like I said before she gets two birds with one stone if she takes you out and gets Elizabeth in the process. She's where we should concentrate."  
  
Jason let out a labored sigh. He had hoped that Sonny would at least consider Ric's possible involvement. When he didn't Jason couldn't hold his tongue any longer. "Why are you being so blind to this? I mean for god sakes he locked Carly in a room for months, was going to steal your child and pass it off as his own, and kill Carly when she wasn't of anymore use to him. He let Elizabeth drink poison and filled her full of so many birth control pills that she nearly died - what makes you think he isn't capable of trying to kill me?" Jason's voice flared in anger and frustration.  
  
"I know he is!" Sonny yelled back. "I know he's a bastard."  
  
"But what then?" When Sonny didn't instantly answer Jason continued. "You may be willing to let him ride on the things he's done to your family but I'm not. I'm not letting him come after Elizabeth, Sonny. Do you hear me? Do you understand me?" Jason asked.  
  
"I still give the orders, Jason!" Sonny's face suddenly hardened with determination. "Ric's off limits. Do you understand me?"  
  
Jason threw up his hands and stormed from the warehouse. He couldn't - wouldn't debate this with Sonny any longer. Sonny was his best friend and taught him about friendship, respect and most of all loyalty, but Jason was now beginning to have his doubts if the Mob boss could return any of those things.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Elizabeth stared at the creamy piece of paper in her hand.  
You can't get rid of me that easily.  
She grabbed onto the table before her to brace herself as the room began to spin around her. She felt her chest constrict as she read those words over and over again. She ran her fingers through the shreds of paper that lay on the table.  
  
"Why?" she said aloud. "Why can't you just let it go?" She asked that question as if Ric were standing in front of her. Elizabeth felt the tears burning her eyes. How had she let herself get into this mess to begin with? How could she have been so completely wrong about a man? She ran her hand through her thick ruddy locks, closed her eyes and willed herself not to cry. Yet it didn't work. The tears cascaded down her porcelain skin just the same.  
How had in a matter of minutes she gone from being completely filled with joy to now being filled with so much regret? The ringing of the phone on the counter startled her.  
  
"Jason?" His name fell from her lips before she had even thought of another word to say. "Hello?" Again there was silence on the other end of the receiver. "Hello? If you think you are scaring me - YOU'RE NOT!" But she was.  
  
Finally the person on the other end of the line clicked off and a dial tone pierced Elizabeth's ear. Rather than placing the receiver in its resting-place she slammed it over and over again against the cradle until she dissolved into a fit of tears.  
  
Without warning her fear had been replaced by sheer rage. She despised feeling helpless. She hated feeling trapped. It disgusted her to think that Ric thought he could bully her into loving him. She hated feeling as though she was that same porcelain doll from years before wrapped in cotton for fear she might crack under the stress of a person's touch. Elizabeth looked around her small studio. It was filled with artwork that had been earmarked for her gallery showing. The one that Ric had orchestrated to distract her from what he really had been doing - holding Carly prisoner.  
Ignoring the throbbing in her head and the shooting pains in her arm and shoulder, Elizabeth set out about the room destroying each and every painting she had done for her bogus show. She took pleasure in obliterating them all. Once those were left in a heap of nothing more than ripped and torn canvas on the floor, she moved on to things that Ric had given her. There were momentos of their courtship, a Polaroid photo taken by the justice of the peace the night they were married and the baby blanket for their child that wasn't, that up until now Elizabeth hadn't been able to part with.  
She gathered up all that her arms could carry and headed toward the door. She surprised herself with the force with which she threw it open.  
  
"Elizabeth?" She could hear Max but wasn't able to see him. "What - what on earth are you doing?" he asked as he quickly took the load of things from her arms. "Jason said you were supposed to be resting."  
  
"I needed to do get rid of a few things," she answered sounding more than a little breathless to him.  
  
"I see. Why don't you let Marco get the rest of what you need to be rid of and go lay down? You look pale." Max's concern for her was evident in his stare.  
  
"Fine." She moved aside and let Marco enter the room.  
  
"What would you like me to do with all of this Miss Webber?"  
  
"Burn it for all I care!"  
  
"All right." Marco gave Max a funny look. He wasn't used to guarding Elizabeth and wasn't sure how he should take her response. Max just nodded and Marco gathered up all that she wanted rid of and left the room.  
  
"Elizabeth," Max said softly. "Can I get you anything?"  
  
"No, thank you though. I'm fine."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes. I think I will go lay down and take a nap," she said suddenly feeling woozy again.  
  
"Good idea."  
  
Max watched as she closed the door between them and positioned himself in front of the steel frame as always. It wasn't until he heard a loud crash from inside that sent him dashing into Elizabeth's studio where he saw her tiny frame sprawled out on the wooden floor. She was out cold. 


	18. Living Arrangements

Second Chances: Living Arrangements  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jason whipped the sedan into the emergency room parking lot at General Hospital and barely had the car in park before he was bounding through the entrance to the ER. His mind raced as it replayed his conversation with Max.  
  
"What do you mean she's out cold?"  
  
"Exactly what I said. She's passed out on the floor and I can't get her to wake up."  
  
"I'll be right there."  
  
"Don't you think we should take her to the hospital?"  
  
"Yeah.yeah. I'll meet you at General Hospital. And Max."  
  
"I know. No one but the docs will get in to see her until you get there."  
  
That discussion wasn't more than fifteen minutes ago but for Jason it felt like a lifetime. He looked around the busy emergency room searching for Bobbie, Monica any familiar face at the moment.  
  
"Where is she?" he asked finally seeing Max standing outside one of the cubicles.  
  
"In there." Max pointed to the curtained off area.  
  
"She's alone?" Jason did little to hide his panic.  
  
"Dr. Jones is in there and Bobbie."  
  
"I'm going in." Max stepped aside and let Jason pass through the opening in the brightly colored curtain. "How is she?"  
  
Tony Jones turned around startled as Jason's voice had come out of nowhere. "She's still unconscious but her vitals are strong."  
  
"Why isn't she awake then?" Jason knew from his own experience that that wasn't an easy question to answer.  
  
"Honestly, we don't know. She could have hit her head when she fell. It could be a complication from the accident.."  
  
"You said she was fine," Jason countered in almost an accusing tone.  
  
"Jason," Bobbie walked over to where he stood motionless. "We are going to make sure she gets the best care. Don't worry."  
  
Don't worry Bobbie said to him. How could he not worry? Not more than a couple hours ago they had professed their love and now all he could imagine was losing her all over again.  
  
"I'm going to go schedule another CAT Scan and MRI. We should know something once we get the results back from those," Tony said.  
  
"Can I stay with her?" Jason asked quietly.  
  
"Of course you can." Bobbie pulled a chair up to the bed and offered it to Jason. "I'll be right out at the nurse's station if you need me." Bobbie gently squeezed his shoulder. She couldn't help but recall the little scene she had interrupted the other day between the two of them. She knew what Elizabeth meant to him. It had never been easy to reassure loved ones but when it was someone that Bobbie considered family herself it was even more difficult.  
  
"Thanks Bobbie."  
  
The red headed nurse left the room as Jason turned and focused his attention on Elizabeth's still form. With a shaky hand he reached out and took hers. Gently he caressed her soft flesh. "Elizabeth," he whispered. "Elizabeth, baby, you need to open your eyes okay? This can't be happening. I should have never left you alone." He cursed himself for running the minute Sonny called him. He should have stayed with her.  
  
Jason pressed his fingers against his ice blue eyes and forced the tears back. "I love you Elizabeth. I have waited four years to tell you that. I can't lose you the minute I do." He choked back an impending sob yet the tears found their way to the surface. Before he could do anything to stop them they cascaded from his thick lashes landing squarely on her alabaster skin. "I love you." Jason brushed his lips against her cheek.  
  
"I love you too." Elizabeth's voice was hoarse.  
  
Jason pulled back and stared into the recesses of her deep cobalt eyes. "Thank god. Don't scare me like that!" Jason almost sounded angry but she knew better.  
  
"Come here," she instructed as she pulled his face closer to her own. Softly their lips met and they shared a kiss as if they were anywhere but the emergency room of General Hospital.  
  
"I have those tests.." Tony stopped short when he caught sight of the scene before him. He cleared his throat to garner their attention. "Awake I see," he almost laughed.  
  
"Uh-huh." Elizabeth confirmed.  
  
"How are you feeling? Can you tell me what happened before you passed out?" Tony asked.  
  
Jason settled down beside her on the bed as she began. "Nothing really. I just felt really dizzy and then it went black around me. That's all I remember."  
  
"Was that the first time you got dizzy?"  
  
"No, there were a couple of other times."  
  
"What?" Jason turned and stared at her. "When - when did that happen?"  
  
"Right after you left this afternoon but it passed. I thought I just stood up too fast."  
  
"I knew I should have never left," Jason said more to himself than her.  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
"That remains to be seen, Elizabeth," Tony interjected. "Being dizzy is normal for having a concussion but blacking out, well that concerns me. I have a CAT Scan scheduled for you. The orderly should be here in a few minutes to bring you up to radiology."  
  
"Thank you Tony," Elizabeth said.  
  
"Yeah thanks," Jason added. Once Dr. Jones had left them Jason turned to her. "Why didn't you tell me you were dizzy?" He rested his hand carefully against her face.  
  
"I didn't think it was anything."  
  
"Obviously it was. Tony said it could be serious. He's worried - and so am I," he added quietly.  
  
"Jason, look at me. I'm fine." Elizabeth clasped his large hand between her two smaller ones. "Please don't worry. You know Tony he's just overly cautious."  
  
"I'm glad he is." Jason captured her in his muscular arms and held her tight.  
  
Elizabeth could feel that every muscle in his body was tense. "Jason, please relax."  
  
"I don't think I can. You don't know what it was like when Max called me. I didn't think anything could have been worse than the day of the accident, not even when Zander shot you, but this was. I suddenly realized how much I had to lose." Jason kissed her gently on the forehead.  
  
"You aren't going to lose me."  
  
"They are ready for you in radiology Mrs. Lansing," the orderly spoke as he entered the room.  
  
The hairs on the back of Jason's neck stood on end at the words Mrs. Lansing. Elizabeth felt his body go rigid once more.  
  
"That's Miss Webber." Elizabeth corrected him. She thought back to the shredded divorce papers she had received earlier. "It's Webber no matter what you want Ric," she mumbled under her breath.  
  
"What?" Jason gave her a quizzical look, which she chose to ignore, and remained centered on the young man in the hospital scrubs.  
  
"I apologize, Miss Webber. Are you ready for your scan?"  
  
"I guess so. Will you wait for me?" She looked back at Jason.  
  
"I'm not going anywhere."  
  
Jason watched as Elizabeth was wheeled from the room. He suddenly had a gnawing in his gut that he couldn't explain. There was more to Elizabeth's fainting spell. Jason knew that somehow, somewhere Ric Lansing figured into it, but how.  
  
"How is she?" Max asked just as anxious about Elizabeth as the enforcer had been when he first arrived.  
  
"She says she's fine but Tony isn't quite as convinced. Did Elizabeth tell you she wasn't feeling well - dizzy anything like that?" Jason questioned.  
  
"No nothing. She didn't look good to me but you know Elizabeth.."  
  
"She never wants to worry anyone." Jason finished Max's sentence.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"I know and that's what's got me worried." Jason furrowed his brow still trying to get a handle on what could possibly be going on. "What happened after I left this afternoon?" he asked. "Anything out of the ordinary?"  
  
"If you mean Lansing, no. Nothing but a delivery from Alexis Davis."  
  
"Delivery?" Jason's ears perked at that comment.  
  
"Yeah, I wasn't too keen on the guy, but then Elizabeth said that the package was her divorce papers so I let the guy go. And after that I didn't see her much again until she tried to carry a bunch of junk from her studio. She said she needed to get rid of some things."  
  
"What?" Jason's face showed his confusion.  
  
"I thought it was a little strange, especially since you said she was supposed to be resting."  
  
"What was she getting rid of?"  
  
"It looked like paintings, pictures, some dried flowers - you'd have to ask Marco I had him take it to the dumpster for her. She was trying to carry it all herself."  
  
"No wonder she fainted," Jason said with a sigh. Elizabeth was always one to do it all on her own. The only person she ever let shoulder any of her burdens had been him and of course he was off with Sonny trying to get him to see something he was never going to. "Did you see the delivery from Alexis?"  
  
"No, she just took it inside and I tipped the kid."  
  
"So you don't know if it really was her divorce papers or not?"  
  
"You don't think they were do you?" Max remarked.  
  
"No. I think Lansing's up to his old tricks."  
  
"What do you want me to do?" Max was ready to spring into action.  
  
"Nothing at the moment. I need to work on getting Elizabeth to my penthouse before I decide what our next move should be. I'm not leaving any opening for Ric to have access to her."  
  
"Do you think she'll go? To the penthouse I mean?"  
  
"Yeah, I think this time she will." Max took note of the slight smile that passed across Jason's face and sensed that something was different. For once maybe the man of stone had finally let the wall around his heart crumble.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jason entered Elizabeth's hospital room. All the tension he had been carrying with him since Max's cryptic call was released the second that Dr. Jones had given him the good news. Elizabeth's CAT scan showed no abnormalities and when Jason relayed to him what Max had said about her activities earlier in the day Tony's concerns about further complications evaporated.  
  
"I just talked to Tony. He says everything looks good."  
  
"See I told you - nothing to worry about." Elizabeth smiled brightly all the apprehensions from earlier vanished. All that she wanted to concentrate on was her and Jason and the love they felt for one another.  
  
"You want to tell me why you felt the need to clean house," Jason said pointedly, "this afternoon."  
  
"Isn't there anything Max doesn't tell you?" She frowned.  
  
"No. Why don't you tell me what's going on?"  
  
"Nothing. I just needed to take care of a few things." Elizabeth avoided his gaze and centered her eyes on the large window to her right.  
  
"And they couldn't have waited?"  
  
"I waited too long already." Jason couldn't help but notice the obscure tone in her voice.  
  
"I know about the delivery from Alexis. Is that what this is about?"  
  
"Yes.no.I don't know."  
  
"What's going on?" Jason drew the armchair in the corner to the side of her bed. "I can't help you if I don't know what's happening."  
  
"Don't you ever get tired of coming to my rescue?" she asked honestly. The entire time they had known one another she felt like he was constantly there to pick up the pieces of her broken life.  
  
"I told you once that you could always come to me - that I would never turn you away and I meant every word of that. I love you Elizabeth."  
  
"I love you too," she choked, "it's just that." she searched for the words to make him understand that she needed to know that their love was more than just a series of rescues.  
  
"What?" He sought for some understanding of what she meant in the depths of her eyes. They had always been the window to her soul. The one place where she couldn't hide from him.  
  
"I don't want you to think of me as an obligation. I don't want to be the damsel in distress all the time. I want you to want to love me not feel like you have to." Instinctively Elizabeth drew her lower lip between her teeth and began to gnaw at it  
  
"I do love you. Not for any other reason than that I do. You aren't an obligation in the way that you make it sound. I will go to my grave protecting Elizabeth. Can't you see that without you I'm exactly what everyone says I am? I'm just Sonny's stone cold enforcer. I'm Taggert's Angerboy. I'm that borg."  
  
"Jason," Elizabeth shook her head in disagreement.  
  
"I am though. I'm only more when I am with you. And I like that. I love the way you opened doors to me that I thought were forever closed. I cherish you Elizabeth. You're not just some job that I was assigned. You saved my life in ways that you don't even recognize. I have never felt like I had to love you Elizabeth - I needed to love you - wanted to love you."  
  
Elizabeth felt her warm tears trickle down her cheeks as Jason verbalized his feelings. Her heart swelled as the memories of all their tumultuous and joyous times together passed through her mind frame by frame.  
  
"Do you understand?" he asked.  
  
She nodded and buried her face against his shoulder, her tears soaking his black tee shirt. "I - I just," she sucked in a quick breath to calm the sobs. "just didn't want us to be together because of some catastrophe or tragedy. I wanted it to be real finally."  
  
"It's always been real Elizabeth. We just never let it be."  
  
"I know." She agreed.  
  
"So are you going to tell me about the package from Alexis? Was it even from Alexis?"  
  
"Yes and no."  
  
She went on to explain about the shredded divorce papers and the single line note. Elizabeth watched his jaw tighten in rage as she spoke. His normally icy eyes blazed with a fury that would have frightened most.  
  
"Would you please consider moving into the penthouse?" he asked when she had finally finished her explanation of the day's events. Jason made a mental note to contact Alexis the minute he had Elizabeth settled and safe. "I know that it feels like the other times that you have stayed there. That I am just protecting you - and yes I am protecting you but it's more than that now. I want you there. I want to wake up with you by my side. I missed that. I never told you but when I left your studio after I had healed from my gunshot wound I missed waking up and knowing that you would be there. I'd like to have that feeling again." Jason smiled.  
  
"I missed that too."  
  
"So you will move in with me?"  
  
"Yes." The fears that she had harbored about not wanting this time to be just like all the others had been put to rest. Jason had done that and falling asleep and waking up in his arms was exactly where she wanted to be.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Within the hour Tony Jones had released Elizabeth into Jason's care with assurances that there would be no repeat performances of her domesticity for at least a few weeks.  
  
It took all the fortitude Ric had within him to stay hidden as he watched Jason assist Elizabeth into the black sedan. He hadn't been allowed to even access the floor that her room had been on in the hospital. The doctors Quartermaine had made sure that he was 'persona non grada'. His cell phone rang just as the car pulled away from the curb.  
  
"What happened?" he barked into the small device.  
  
"I delivered them just as you instructed."  
  
"Then how did she end up back in the hospital?"  
  
"I have no idea. So where's my money?" the voice asked.  
  
"You'll have it. You'll have." He slammed the cell phone closed and was beginning to rethink his unholy alliance. 


	19. Paying the Price

Second Chances: Paying the Price  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Ric turned the key in the lock and let himself inside the darkened house - the house that had once been home to himself and Elizabeth. He didn't bother turning on the light but instead moved to the wet bar situated quietly in the corner of the room. His propensity for scotch had been growing these days. The ice clinked against the thick crystal glass as the amber liquid washed over them. With one long gulp Ric downed the contents of the glass and poured himself another hoping to forget everything that was wrong in his life for even just a fraction of a second - yet that didn't happen.  
He glanced around the room memories flooding his senses again. He could hear her telling him how extravagant the house was, that his apartment would be fine for them. How she had wished he had let her help with choosing their new home. Yet he had a well-planned comeback for each one of her protests. He had to have that house. He had gone to great lengths to ensure that it had everything he needed to execute his scheme. But where had that gotten him? There he sat alone, no Elizabeth, no baby - nothing.  
  
"Damn you, Sonny!" His voice echoed in the eerily silent room. Sonny had been stealing things from Ric his entire life. Because of his big brother, Ric grew up without a mother. Adella had chosen Sonny over him. She had left him with a menace of a father. She couldn't bear to part with her precious Sonny, yet leaving him as an infant had been so easy. Ric felt his chest tighten as those painful memories drowned him. There wasn't a day that didn't go by that Trevor Lansing hadn't reminded him of how disposable he had been to his mother. It had been so ingrained in him that for a long time Ric felt worthless - until Elizabeth. But Sonny had managed again to take that love away too. He not only had taken his wife but his child as well. It wasn't fair. Sonny had Michael and a new baby on the way. He and Elizabeth had nothing. All he had wanted to do was balance the scales. Give them back what had been taken from them. Why couldn't Elizabeth understand that? Why had she shut him out without so much as an explanation? Why was Morgan worthy a dozen-second chances and he wasn't worth even one? Ric shook his head trying to rid himself of the voices screaming in his head.  
  
He lifted the decanter full of liquor and carried it with him as he made his way across the room and up the stairs to his bedroom. Again he dispensed with the illuminating the room. In its darken state he could delude himself for a bit longer that he might actually find his wife curled up sleeping in the bed rather than knowing all too well where she truly was.  
  
Ric slumped against the foot of the expansive bed and sat the crystal container on the floor beside him when he had filled his glass for the third or fourth time, he'd lost count. The reality that Elizabeth was more than likely sleeping alongside Jason Morgan that night struck him like brute force. Every reflection he once carried of her in his mind was now distorted by Morgan's constant presence in Elizabeth's life. He clenched his fist around the glass with such intensity he almost felt it give under the pressure.  
  
Out of the corner of his eye the silky fabric of a babydoll nighty that Elizabeth had left behind caught his attention. He had left everything in the room just as it had been the day that Elizabeth walked away. It was his way of holding a place for her. Her toiletries were still scattered around the master bathroom. The vanilla scented shampoo she loved was perched on the corner of the tub. If a person hadn't known better they would have thought that she still very much lived there.  
  
Ric made his way along the floor until his hands reached the arm of the chair and snatched the delicate pale fabric between his fingers. He caressed it as though he were caressing Elizabeth. It was oddly comforting yet to any casual observer - it would have come across as quite bizarre.  
  
Gently he rubbed it against his cheek rough from several days worth of dark stubble. He smiled almost melancholy at the thought of how he used to tickle her body with his whiskers from a day's missed shaving when they made love. That thought brought his attention to the king size bed that sat in the middle of the room. He let out a half hearted laugh recalling how Elizabeth said they didn't need such a large bed and how she ended up sleeping pressed against him night after night just to prove her point.  
  
He had never believed it when people spoke of having a broken heart until now. He knew exactly what those people had been talking about. He felt that his heart was left in pieces on the floor of that room the day that Elizabeth tore from it never looking back.  
  
His eyes were drawn the photo of her that sat on the nightstand on his side of the bed. Her bright blues eyes smiled at him. That was the Elizabeth he remembered the Elizabeth that pledged to love him forever. How had forever become so short lived?  
  
Jason Morgan - that was how. He had stuck his nose in where it hadn't belonged over and over again. He was constantly checking up on Elizabeth, even when she expressly had told him not to. Jason's persistence that he was tied to Carly's disappearance had gotten her to question Ric and his motives. Jason had told her that she was married to a rapist. That had been coupled with her stumbling upon Carly chained to the panic room wall had been the final nails in the coffin of their marriage.  
  
For Ric all during his relationship with Elizabeth, Jason was like a gnat on a warm summer's night. Well that was about to change. It was time that bothersome bug was squashed finally. He didn't care what Jason thought he was entitled to.it wouldn't be his wife.  
  
"Damn you, Morgan!" Ric threw his glass across the room careening against the dark wall showering the room in glass.  
  
The shrill sound of the doorbell disturbed his train of thought. He would have been content to stay there and ignore whoever was at the door yet the continual ringing of the bell told a different tale. Ric picked up the decanter of scotch and headed to rid himself of the person on the other side of his door.  
  
"What?" he barked when he threw the six panel door open.  
  
"Testy aren't we this evening?" Faith asked as she breezed passed him and into the room.  
  
"Since when do you knock?" he questioned.  
  
"I thought I would try something different," she giggled. "What's got you in such a foul mood?"  
  
"Where were you today?"  
  
"Since when do I answer to you?" Faith returned his sharp tone with one of her own.  
  
"Where were you today?" he repeated as his mind centered on Elizabeth's latest trip to the hospital.  
  
"Working on business."  
  
"What business?" He disliked her vague answers.  
  
"Bringing down Sonny and the five families, duh." She sounded as though she was talking some dolt.  
  
"What were you doing?"  
  
"Why the third degree?" She turned the tables on the interrogation. "Since when do you question my dealings?"  
  
"Since Elizabeth ended up in the hospital this afternoon. What did you do to her?" The question had left Ric's mouth before he had even thought about it.  
  
"Why is it that I am your first suspect anytime the calamity waitress gets even so much as a hang nail?"  
  
"Well let's see, snakes - poisoned lemonade - shall I go on?"  
  
"Seems to me you still have yearnings for a woman who wants nothing to do with you!" Faith's jealousy bled into her voice. "She's all but said you are dead to her but you aren't getting the picture. Why is that?"  
  
Ric saw the anger flash across Faith's face and he knew that he was about to blow it all if he didn't get a better handle on the situation. He was supposed to be convincing Faith that Elizabeth was the last thing on his mind anymore, but that was proving to be more difficult than he had expected.  
  
"I know Elizabeth and I are over." He nearly choked on those words and did the best he could to sound believable.  
  
"Oh really? It didn't appear that way a minute ago when you were accusing me of bringing harm to your precious Elizabeth." Faith emphasized her name with a singsong sort of intonation.  
  
"Don't you get it..."  
  
"No," she cut him off. "No I don't."  
  
"I'm going to be the first person Morgan comes looking for if something happens to Elizabeth. He's made it perfectly clear what could happen to me." Ric wasn't about to go into his little incident with Johnny O'Brien, but he wanted no parts of a repeat performance. That's why he had to make this work. "Don't you get it, if you keep going after Elizabeth you are going to draw attention to me and then inadvertently to yourself as well. How is that going to help us get what we want? How's that going to help us bring down Sonny quietly if his enforcer is breathing down our necks?" Ric had impressed even himself with his quick thinking.  
  
"Who said I wanted any parts of doing anything quietly to Sonny?" she stressed.  
  
"Like your in your face tactics have worked so far?"  
  
"And yours have worked so well too?" she countered.  
  
Ric bit the inside of his mouth hard to contain his anger. Dealing with Faith was like dealing with a toddler always on the verge of a tantrum. "See why we need a different approach then?"  
  
He walked across the room to where she stood and as appalled, as he was to be doing it he wrapped his arms around her waist. He knew enough about Ms. Roscoe to know that she responded to two things and two things only - sex and power. He was about to give her at least one of those.  
  
He drew her body against his and let his hands walk her tight leather skirt higher up on her thighs. He watched her eyes widen in delight as his fingers toyed with thick tufts that guarded her femininity. He closed his eyes and imagined Elizabeth as he suckled Faith's neck.  
  
Despite not wanting to become aroused it happened anyhow when Faith slipped her hands inside his jeans. She had quickness to her touch that had Ric suddenly not caring who she was. He had a hunger that needed fed and before he knew what hit him they were naked on the living room floor.  
  
Ric rolled over and for a brief second expected to see Elizabeth lying beside him on the Prussian carpet. The realization that it was Faith hit him hard and fast nearly knocking the wind out of him. He slipped out from under the chenille throw quietly and pulled his pants on. It was funny to watch Faith Roscoe sleeping. In that state she seemed almost human. Almost like a woman a man could actually love. It just would never be him no matter how much she wanted that.  
  
He finished getting dressed, put on his jacket and left Faith sleeping on the floor. Once outside the brisk night air helped to center him. He knew what he had done was for the greater good and in the end it would be all worth it. He reached inside the pocket of his sheepskin jacket and brought forth a piece of red glass, unsure of it's true meaning but knowing that it indeed represented something. 


	20. Settling In

Second Chances: Settling In  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Slowly Elizabeth opened her eyes and the realization of where she was caused a smile to expand across her face. She was nestled in the crock of Jason's strong arm. She had spent the night with him in his bed. A sense of comfort and contentment that she hadn't had since the days of living in her studio with him washed over her.  
  
She turned on her side slowly as not to disturb him. For once she wanted to be the one able to study him. Endless times she had woken up to him staring down at her, it was her turn. She watched him sleeping. She was well aware that Jason Morgan professed to need little if any sleep but something told her that this was the first time in ages that he actually welcomed the slumber. He appeared so at ease lying beside her. In the world Jason lived in being at ease wasn't something that came readily.  
  
She watched the rise and fall of his chest with each breath that he took. His breathing was even and steady much like her own was when he was close by. To this day she didn't understand it but Jason had a way of calming, centering her by doing absolutely nothing but being there. Even when she couldn't admit it to herself much less the world, she knew she loved him. She shared so much of herself with him without giving it a thought. It had been so easy, natural.  
  
When Lucky returned from the dead, she was thrilled but it paled in comparison to the feelings that invaded her the day she saw Jason on the docks that first time he came back to Port Charles. It was as if a part of her heart had been returned to her. It was a shame that she hadn't been able to admit her true feelings all those years ago. She could have saved so many people so much pain.  
  
Jason stirred a bit as the early morning light filtered itself through the slats in the wide wooden blinds that adorned his bedroom windows. She winced when his movements jarred her shoulder, but she clenched her jaw not letting the sound of pain escape from her lips. She knew if she were to do that Jason would be awake in a fraction of a second and she wasn't ready to relinquish her study of him just yet. She waited for the discomfort in her arm to pass and resumed her examination of him.  
  
Mentally she sketched his profile in her mind. His features had a hardness to them but Elizabeth knew how they softened when he would smile at her or when she could get him to inadvertently laugh at one crazy thing or another that she might say. She recalled the first true laugh they shared. It was that Christmas they spent in her studio. He laughed at her little Christmas tree that cried to be taken home with her. In the end they decorated that little tree together. It had been one of the best Christmases she remembered ever having. "I loved you then," she whispered in his ear.  
  
"When?" Jason said not opening his eyes.  
  
"How long have you been awake?" she asked.  
  
"Since you pretended not to be in pain." Jason smiled sheepishly.  
  
"I did no such thing," she protested slightly annoyed that she couldn't ever fool him.  
  
"Ah huh," he laughed and opened his eyes finally. She loved his eyes. To the rest of the world they were hard cold pieces of blue ice. But to Elizabeth they were as deep as the bluest part of the ocean. They were warm and loving. They showed a side of Jason only she knew.  
  
"So you loved me when?" he questioned. It still was hard for him to comprehend finally letting the word love and Elizabeth occupy the same sentence. Or that even though he knew that there was danger from so many sides just beyond his penthouse door he wasn't forcing her out of his life. This new existence was going to take some getting used to but he definitely wouldn't mind it. "So, when?" he prodded anxious to hear her response.  
  
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Elizabeth cocked her brow and smiled slyly enjoying the easiness between them.  
  
"Yes, I would." He turned on his elbow and pressed his lips against hers.  
  
"You think you ply me with kisses and I'll just divulge all of my secrets, Mr. Morgan."  
  
"Ah-huh." He smiled and kissed her again this time letting his tongue dart into the recesses of her mouth. "Working?"  
  
"Maybe," she giggled.  
  
He rested his hand on the back of her neck and drew her closer to him. At first his lips were soft against hers but took on a hunger that Elizabeth returned eagerly. The beating of her heart quickened to the point that she heard it pounding in her head. It was merely a kiss but it elicited emotions in her that were uncontrollable. Suddenly he pulled back. "So when did you love me?" He was intent on getting answer.  
  
"Ugh," she sighed looking at him with laughter in her eyes. "You aren't going to let this go are you?"  
  
"No."  
  
"You know this is very un-Jason-like of you," she scolded. "My Jason never pushed for answers. Who are you and what have you done with him?" She laughed.  
  
"I've decided pushing for what I want isn't so bad after all." He kissed the tip of her nose.  
  
"I agree. Sorry it took both of us so long to figure that out."  
  
"No looking back," he said.  
  
"Now there's the Jason I know and love," she added.  
  
"Momentary lapse of reason," he agreed. "So when.." Before he could finish Elizabeth's cell phone rang from inside her purse. "Here." He reached across to the bedside table and offered it to her.  
  
"Thanks. Hello."  
  
"Like playing house?" The distorted voice said before the line went dead.  
  
"Elizabeth?" Jason saw the panic fill her eyes. "What? Elizabeth who was that?"  
  
"I don't know," her voice shook.  
  
"Was it Ric?" Jason pressed.  
  
"I don't know," she repeated. "The voice was all garbled. It could have been but didn't have to be."  
  
"Was it a man's voice - maybe a woman's?" Jason asked not forgetting about Faith Roscoe. Even though he wasn't as convinced as Sonny that it was her, Jason certainly couldn't rule her out.  
  
"I don't know!" she snapped.  
  
"I'm sorry," he said as he cradled her in his arms. He felt her body trembling. "It's okay. It's okay baby." He ran his and along her back in small concentric circles until her body stilled. "You okay?" he asked as he pulled back to look at her face.  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
"You're a terrible liar."  
  
"With you," she faintly smiled.  
  
"What did the person say?" Jason questioned.  
  
"They asked me if I liked playing house? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Sounds like someone knows you aren't staying at your studio." Jason sighed deeply, wishing that for once something between them just could have been simple.  
  
"That's what I thought." She closed her eyes hoping that the tears wouldn't come.  
  
"You're safe here Elizabeth."  
  
"I know."  
  
Elizabeth moved off the bed and walked across the room. She tried to calm the wild thoughts that ran rampant through her head.  
  
Jason made no attempt to follow her. He just watched her. He hated that she was afraid. He knew she was even if she would never admit it. That was just her way. She would put on a brave face and pretend all was fine even when Jason knew it was far from it.  
  
All he wanted to do right then was kill Ric Lansing. He would stake money on it that that call had been from him. He knew that Elizabeth was with him, staying - no living at his penthouse now. When would the man give up? Jason thought. He knew the answer though, he wouldn't - not until he got what he wanted. And that was never going to happen.  
  
When he could no longer handle the distance between them, Jason walked to where she stood facing the corner and slipped his arms around her tiny waist. "It's going to be okay," he whispered.  
  
"Is it?" She turned to face him. He saw the tears that had made their silent appearance on her cheeks.  
  
"Yes." He wiped them away with his thumbs. "Yes, I promise you Ric will NEVER hurt you again," he emphasized.  
  
"You don't know how much I want to believe that Jason."  
  
"But you don't do you? You don't think he's ever going to be out of your life?" he asked reading her quiet thoughts.  
  
She nodded her head in reply.  
  
"He will Elizabeth. I swear to you he will." He pulled her against him as she rested her head on his chest. "If it's the last thing I do, he'll be out of your life once and for all."  
  
A shiver ran down her spine at the calculated way Jason spoke. She knew the veiled meaning in his words and for once didn't care that that meant a man might die at Jason's hand. All she wanted was for Ric to be gone from her life.  
  
"You hungry? You want some breakfast?" he asked after a few minutes of silence between them had passed. A part of him was surprised that she didn't ask if he intended on killing Ric and another was even more shocked that she hadn't asked him to spare the man's life. On many occasions both she and Emily had asked him to turn a blind eye on what he knew would have been best for all concerned, yet this time Elizabeth hadn't. He searched her sapphire eyes for what she was thinking.  
  
"I'd love some food. And no I'm not going to ask you about him. I don't want to know Jason." She answered his unspoken question.  
  
"What does that mean?" he asked unsure how to gauge that remark.  
  
"It means I don't want to know what happens to Ric -- or your involvement in it. This is one time that I don't mind being kept out of your 'business'."  
  
"Okay." Jason nodded dropping the subject. It was odd to have had that conversation with her yet it was also good. For once he felt as if he knew where he stood with her. There weren't any secrets. Maybe they finally crossed that last hurdle that had forever tripped them up. "Why don't you take a shower while I figure out something for you to eat?"  
  
"Sure. Jason," she called to him as he began to leave the room. "I love you."  
  
"I love you too, Elizabeth."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
She descended the stairs to find an array of food spread out on the glass top coffee table. "Wow! Are you feeding an army?"  
  
"Wasn't sure what you would be in the mood for."  
  
"You did all of this?" she questioned. "Sonny better watch out. It looks like you are vying for his position as master chef." She laughed as she reached for a blueberry muffin.  
  
"Hardly. Besides you can thank Kelly's and Gavin since he delivered the feast you see before you."  
  
"Ah - I see. Thank you though. You thought of everything."  
  
"How's your shoulder feeling?" he questioned when he saw her stop short in pain as though she had forgotten about the injury.  
  
"Stiff, but I'll manage."  
  
"Have you been taking those pain meds that Tony prescribed?"  
  
"They are still at my studio," she said as she took another bite of her muffin.  
  
"I'll have one of the guys go over and get them for you. It couldn't hurt you to take them for a couple days. At least you would be more comfortable."  
  
"I was thinking that I should go back.."  
  
"What? Why?" Jason cut her off before she had even been able to finish her comment. Immediately he was fearful that their conversation about Ric and what might happen to him had her running for cover. "Why don't you want to live here?"  
  
"Who said I don't want to live here Jason?" She was amazed that he would jump to that instantaneous conclusion. But then again hadn't that been their previous pattern? Cut and run when either one of them couldn't deal with something. It was going to take a while for the both of them to realize that this time was different - that it was forever.  
  
"You said you were thinking of going back to your studio."  
  
"No, what I was going to say was that I should go there and pick up my stuff. As much as I love wearing your shirts." Jason smiled at that remark. "I can't do it forever. I would like to get some of my art supplies.."  
  
"Max and Marco can do all of that. Besides you aren't supposed to be doing anything strenuous for a little while."  
  
"I'd kinda like to get my personal stuff myself, if you know what I mean."  
  
His cell phone rang before he had a chance to speak. "Morgan. Can't it wait? Elizabeth is here and she's not supposed to be left alone." Jason knew he was exaggerating a bit but he didn't care. He didn't want to leave her alone again. Especially not for another run in with Sonny that would get them no where. "I'm not sure we have any more to say on the subject." Elizabeth heard the ire in his voice. "Fine!" Jason dropped the phone on the desk with an angry thud.  
  
"Jase?" she questioned. "You okay?"  
  
"Yeah. That was Sonny."  
  
"Figured as much."  
  
"He needs to talk to me."  
  
"Got that too."  
  
"I don't want to leave you alone. I mean you've been in the hospital twice in two days. I would just feel better staying here." Elizabeth's heart surged with delight. Jason was putting her first. He didn't immediately run for the door the second Sonny ordered him to. He was sitting on the couch next to her. She had to pinch herself to believe this wasn't a dream.  
  
"I'll be fine. I promise not to rearrange the furniture while you are gone," she laughed. "Go see what Sonny needs." She couldn't put her finger on it but she sensed that there was a rift between the two men. "When you get back we can go to my studio and pick up my things."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes. I promise to rest until you get back," she said with a wink.  
  
"Rest huh?"  
  
"I promise," she giggled.  
  
"Okay, I'll be right across the hall. Come get me if you need anything or if you feel dizzy - you haven't been feeling dizzy again have you?" He hadn't thought to ask her that earlier.  
  
"Only when you kiss me."  
  
"Very funny," he said as he leaned and kissed her.  
  
"See, I feel faint." She rested her hand on her forehead like the women did in the old black and white films.  
  
Jason caught her in his arms and kissed her passionately until she really did feel woozy. "You lay down and I will be back as soon as I can." Jason pointed to the leather couch.  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
Elizabeth settled back and watched him disappear through the doorway. She let out a squeal of delight as though she was a giddy schoolgirl all over again. 


	21. Butting Heads

Second Chances: Butting Heads  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jason looked back across the hallway and wanted nothing more than to be curled up on his leather couch with Elizabeth. He wasn't sure how much rest she would have actually gotten but it was certainly more appealing than arguing with Sonny, which was inevitably going to happen. Jason had a hard difficult time wrapping his mind around why Sonny couldn't just write Ric off. A.J. had committed lesser offenses and Jason hadn't any trouble retaliating when the need arose. It was one of those things that he knew he would never comprehend.  
  
Jason ran his hands across his face and pushed a hard breath from his mouth as he turned the knob and entered Sonny's penthouse house. Jason steeled himself for the next round of how to get his boss/friend to see how dangerous his little brother truly was.  
  
"Carly home?" Jason asked as he closed the door behind him.  
  
"Her and Bobbie went shopping for the new nursery."  
  
Jason didn't know if he should be happy or not that Carly wasn't at the penthouse. He knew there was a very big part of her that didn't understand Sonny's reluctance at ridding them of Ric's presence from their lives either. He couldn't believe that he would have actually welcomed her meddling for once. He would have laughed if it hadn't been such a bizarre thought.  
  
"I thought we should talk in private and you know how she loves to listen at the top of the stairs." Jason and Sonny shared a smile - the first smile in days to pass between them.  
  
"You pegged her right on the money," Jason agreed. "So what's so important?"  
  
"Well I wanted to let you know that after you left the warehouse the other day. I had our guys go over you bike with a fine tooth comb."  
  
"Why?" Jason questioned.  
  
"I just wanted to be sure we didn't miss anything."  
  
"And?" Jason held his tongue. It upset him that Sonny hadn't taken him on his word about what caused the accident.  
  
"You want a drink?" Sonny offered him the glass of scotch he just poured. Jason put up his hand to indicate he wasn't interested. "I've got beer in the kitchen."  
  
"No thanks. What did you want to talk about? I don't like leaving Elizabeth alone."  
  
"She's staying with you now? That was fast."  
  
Jason looked at Sonny unsure how he was supposed to take that last remark. It wasn't that long ago that he was congratulating him on finally making a commitment to Elizabeth but now there was a hint of sarcasm in his tone.  
  
"With everything that's going on I thought it was best to have her close." Jason decided against any further explanation.  
  
"What do you mean what's going on? What happened to Elizabeth now that would make you think she needed to stay at your place?"  
  
Carly stopped cold hearing her husband's words. Elizabeth Webber was staying at Jason's? Elizabeth was right across the hall? She dropped her hand from the doorknob she had just been about to turn. Showing Sonny her latest purchases for the baby's nursery would have to wait. Carly left the bags beside the door and strode across the corridor to Jason's penthouse. Without even bothering to knock she breezed inside as if she owned the place.  
  
"That was fast," Elizabeth said as she made her way from the kitchen holding a steaming cup of hot cocoa. "I know I'm supposed to be." Elizabeth expected to hear him scolding her for not doing as she was told but stopped short when she realized it wasn't Jason standing before her. "Something I can help you with?" She settled back down on the creamy brown leather of the couch as she made her remark.  
  
"What catastrophe is Jason saving you from this time?" Carly spouted annoyed at how comfortable Elizabeth looked sitting there in Jason's shirt.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"So why is Elizabeth staying at your place?" Sonny asked again as though he deserved an answer.  
  
"I want her there. And I'd like to get back to her. So what did you need? You said you had the guys go over my bike again." Jason waited for Sonny to respond.  
  
"Yeah. It was just like you said. It was that master link. The guys said it was definitely tampered with."  
  
Jason felt his features harden - something that rarely ever happened with Sonny, but it angered him that for what ever his reasons were he seemed not to trust Jason's judgement.  
  
"We.I," Jason corrected himself. "Already knew that. Anything else?" He looked toward the door as though to indicate he wanted to leave.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"No catastrophe for me, but maybe it will be for you." Elizabeth smiled. She was going to enjoy twisting the knife just a little. Carly was forever making it clear to her that Jason, Sonny - any man within her reach somehow belonged or was tied to her. Elizabeth had had her fair share of run ins with Caroline Benson Corinthos to know just what buttons to push.  
  
"What the hell are you talking about? I know about the accident. I'm sure you played on Jason's sympathy and that's why you are staying here." Carly wanted to sound so sure of herself but even to her she could hear the doubt in her voice.  
  
"Think what you want to think, Carly."  
  
"If you have something to say Elizabeth, say it!" Carly's fangs began to show.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Some place you would rather be?" Sonny's eyes followed Jason's toward the door.  
  
"Yes. And I am trying to figure out what was so urgent you needed be over here right now. You haven't told me anything we didn't already know."  
  
Jason let out a frustrated sigh as he tried to tame the hostility he felt seething from within. He had grown tried of Sonny questioning his loyalty every time the mood struck him. He had proved time and time again that he was loyal to a fault where Sonny was concerned.  
  
"I just wanted to be sure."  
  
"What - you didn't believe I knew what was wrong with my own bike? Come on Sonny what's really going on?"  
  
"It wasn't that I didn't believe you ."  
  
"What then? What was it?" Jason suddenly found himself showing emotions that he had always kept from Sonny. Even when he had walked in on the remnants of the night that Carly and Sonny slept together, Jason had never expressed his true anger, hurt and despair.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"You might want to sit down. I don't need you fainting on me." Elizabeth knew that comment had been snide but she let it come forth anyhow. She loved watching Carly's eyes fill with fury.  
  
"I'll stand," Carly said just to be obstinate.  
  
"Suit yourself." Elizabeth took another long sip of her drink and let her adversary's animosity ferment a little longer.  
  
Carly paced in front of Jason's desk. Elizabeth watched her in delight. It was heaven to see Carly stew in her own fury. Finally when the blonde couldn't take the silence or the smug look on the petite brunette's face she flew into action.  
  
"You like playing house?"  
  
Elizabeth's eyes widened at that remark. It was like the phone call from earlier in the day came up from the ground to smack her in the face. "It was you!" she stated in disbelief.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sonny stepped back thrown by Jason's outburst. He clenched his fist around his glass of scotch tormented by the warring voices in his head. There stood Jason, a man who he had taken under his wing. A man who had laid down his life for him more times than Sonny chose to recall. A man who he had trusted his business too when he couldn't run it himself. What was he doing questioning his allegiance? But he found himself doing it just the same.  
  
"I had the guys go over your motorcycle so that they would know what we are dealing with. So that when they started snooping around in Faith's camp they would know who to look for."  
  
Jason closed his eyes and tightened his jaw to the point that he heard it pop. Faith again, he thought shaking his head slightly.  
  
"As soon as we know who messed with your bike, we'll send Ms. Roscoe a little message of our own."  
  
"Sonny it wasn't Faith! I know it in my gut. It wasn't her. Why can't you open your eyes and see that this is all so Lansing?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"What was me?" Carly returned with no clue to what Elizabeth had meant.  
  
"I can't believe even you would stoop so low."  
  
"What the hell are you talking about?"  
  
"You know what I'm talking about. The little call you made to my cell phone earlier thinking that you were going to scare me away. Fat chance!" Suddenly knowing who the culprit was gave Elizabeth new found vigor.  
  
"You think I called you?" Carly stared at her with astonishment in her eyes. "Why would I waste my time?" She didn't know what Elizabeth was even talking about.  
  
"You'd do anything if you thought that it meant keeping Jason and I apart. It's not going to work this time Carly. Jason's through pushing me away to protect me," Elizabeth said matter of fact.  
  
Carly hated the way that other woman sounded so sure of herself. "I don't have to do anything to keep the two of you apart. You'll manage to screw it up again all on your own!" She taunted.  
  
For a brief second Elizabeth almost turned tail and ran as she had weeks before when Carly mocked her. But not now, she knew that Jason loved her and had for as long as she loved him. She wasn't about to let Carly of all people mess that up. "And you should know right? Since when it comes to men you are the master at screwing..I mean screwing up.  
  
"You bitch!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"And why can't you focus on anyone but Ric?" Sonny countered Jason's question.  
  
"It's Ric, all of it - messing with my motorcycle, the shredded divorce papers Elizabeth got, the phone calls, all of it's been him."  
  
"Why would he want to hurt Elizabeth?"  
  
"Are you hearing yourself? That's what Ric does! He's done it already! Where were you all those months when he was holding Carly? How can you just forget that?" Jason had long since dropped his cool exterior.  
  
"Who says I've forgotten?"  
  
"Haven't you? I mean hell I have gotten rid of men for lesser reasons on your orders."  
  
"He's my brother," Sonny nearly whispered.  
  
"Well he's not mine!" Jason said his blue eyes simmering with fury.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Elizabeth stood nose to nose with Carly. She wasn't about to back down. Not this time. She wanted no parts of being that meek little girl that everyone thought needed protecting.  
  
"What Carly? The truth hurt? Or is it the fact that you can't stand that Jason has come to me more times than he's ever come to you? He's trusted me when he knew he could never have trusted you!"  
  
It was now time for Elizabeth's words to cut through to Carly's soul. While she was grateful to have Sonny a part of her heart would always belong to Jason, even if they were only friends. "Shut up."  
  
"You can dish it out but you can't take it?"  
  
"What makes you think this time will be any different for the two of you? You've proven over and over again that you run in the eleventh hour. You aren't cut out for the life that Jason and Sonny lead. Why don't you do us all a favor and go back to where you came from?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"I told you Ric's off limits, Jason!" Sonny walked over to where his loyal enforcer stood. Jason towered over him yet he wasn't backing down. "I'll handle Ric when I feel the time is right."  
  
"Would that be before or after Elizabeth becomes his prisoner like Carly or winds up dead?" Jason's features returned to their stoic nature. He was certain that Sonny wouldn't budge from his point of view. It was part the control freak in him and part needing to be right. Jason didn't care anymore. He would do what ever he had to do to protect Elizabeth not matter the cost to his relationship - working or otherwise - with Sonny.  
  
"It won't happen." Sonny sounded so sure of himself.  
  
"The hell it won't."  
  
"I've put a few men on Faith. As soon as she slips up which she's bound to do since she always does this will all be over. Trust me, Jase."  
  
"No." Sonny stood wide eyed starring at the younger man in disbelief. "I can't. My trusting you has cost me Elizabeth once before. I won't let it happen again. You didn't believe me when Carly was kidnapped that it was Ric and you don't believe me now. But that doesn't make what I am saying any less true."  
  
"Is it possible you are just gunning for Ric because of Elizabeth and not the other way around?" Sonny couldn't believe he heard that comment escape his lips but it had just the same.  
  
Jason stormed out of penthouse four without even bothering to dignify Sonny's question with a response. That had been the last straw for him.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"I'm right what Jason wants me. And that kills you doesn't it Carly? You said Jason would never love me. Well you were wrong about that. Jason's always loved me."  
  
"You'll never be his Robin!" Carly was running out of ammunition to spew in her foe's direction.  
  
"And I don't want to be."  
  
"You really think he loves you? You know Jason - he's always playing the hero. That's all you are to him is another person to rescue. He'll get tired of you soon enough."  
  
As much as she hadn't wanted those words to effect her they had. That was her Achilles heal in her relationship with Jason. And Carly knew it.  
  
"All of this is just some knee jerk reaction to Emily's death. You know it, I know it and Jason will figure it out soon enough! You'll never be enough for him!"  
  
"That's enough Carly!" Jason's voice brought silence to the angry blonde. 


	22. The Hard Truth

Second Chances: The Hard Truth  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"All of this is just some knee jerk reaction to Emily's death. You know it, I know it and Jason will figure it out soon enough! You'll never be enough for him!"  
  
Jason entered his penthouse just in time to hear the last of Carly's spiteful words. "That's enough, Carly!" He walked past his one time lover and friend and instantly took Elizabeth in his arms. Immediately the tears she had been holding back came forth.  
  
Even though Carly wanted to look away from the loving pair her eyes were riveted on them. She swallowed hard around the apple-sized lump in her throat. "Jase.." she began.  
  
"Save it! I've had just about enough of the Corinthos' for one day!" Jason's fury was written all of his face. "Are you okay?" His voice softened when he spoke to Elizabeth.  
  
"I'm fine," she returned. Her voice shook more than she had wanted it to.  
  
Carly rolled her eyes at the scene before her. She couldn't help but be a bit jealous of what she saw though. Elizabeth's back rested against Jason's chest while he had his arms tightly wrapped around her slim waist. She knew that she shouldn't feel those pangs of possessiveness but when it came to Jason she couldn't help herself.  
  
"I think it's time for you to go," Jason said as he pointed to the door.  
  
"Not until we get some things straighten out," Carly countered as she stepped closer to the pair.  
  
"What - you want to tell me that nothing was going on between the two of you when I walked in?" Jason looked at Elizabeth as well when he said that. He had known weeks ago that the two of them had had a run in and had let it drop then but he wasn't about to now.  
  
"I want - need you to understand what was going on," Carly said.  
  
"Oh I understand. I understand that you think you can walk into my place anytime the mood strikes you, Carly! But your explanation should be good for a laugh at least." Jason felt Elizabeth lean her head against his chest and he wondered if she was feeling all right. "You okay?" he asked again.  
  
"I'm fine. Not a thing to worry about." Gently she reached up and stroked his cheek with the palm of her hand.  
  
Carly felt her skin crawl.  
  
"So you had something to say?" Jason turned his attention back to the fuming blonde standing in front of him.  
  
"Why does everyone feel the need to protect her?" Carly asked truly needing an answer to that question. Sonny had taken up for Elizabeth not more than a few days ago, Max was like her own personal body guard and well Jason - Carly could tell by the way he looked at her he was head over heels in love with the little waif. Not that she hadn't seen that all along though. Even back in the days when he was recovering in her studio she saw the hinting of love between them. "What's so damn special about her?"  
  
"You have a point, Carly?" Jason remarked ignoring the questions.  
  
"I want an answer Jason. Why her? Why are you so attracted to the little girl scouts?" Carly included Robin in her remarks without actually using her name.  
  
Jason shook his head and just stared at her. He couldn't believe they were going over this again.  
  
"What?" Carly asked seeing his expression.  
  
"Why are you doing this Carly? Why are you bringing up stuff that's been dead and buried?" Jason inquired. He again felt Elizabeth's body waver beneath his hands. "Why don't you sit down?" he said directing her to the couch in front of them.  
  
"Stop worrying about me. I'm fine."  
  
"It's my job to worry about you." He smiled as he positioned her on the supple leather cushion.  
  
Elizabeth couldn't help but offer Carly an I told you so smile.  
  
"Oh please!" Carly spouted as she felt sickened at the sight of Jason cooing over some woman - no girl.  
  
"If we're done here.."  
  
"Hardly," Carly cut him off.  
  
"Then what do you want?" Jason had grown exasperated first by Sonny and now Carly.  
  
"I want you to tell me the truth."  
  
"I don't lie Carly."  
  
"Do you love her?" Carly shocked herself by asking such a point blank question.  
  
"Yes."  
  
Jason's single line answer was like a dagger through Carly's heart. "After everything you love her," she emphasized.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"How can you love someone that loved Ric Lansing? How can you love someone that was too blind to see she was being played for a damn fool? How can you love someone that slept with a man who for months let me think he raped me?"  
  
Elizabeth felt her body stiffen at Carly's remarks. She straightened her self on the couch and waited for Jason's retort.  
  
"You can actually love her?" Carly spoke before he had a chance to answer.  
  
"Yes." Jason was unwavering in his reply.  
  
Carly wouldn't allow the grief she suddenly felt overtake her. She wouldn't give Elizabeth the satisfaction of seeing how hurt she was. She hadn't expected Jason to finally be so strong in his conviction of loving Elizabeth Webber.  
  
"You can't tell me that this has nothing to do with Emily dying. Before all of that the two of you were barely speaking to one another." Carly was grasping at straws. She didn't want to see what was right before her eyes. "You're just clinging to her because Emily is gone."  
  
"Believe what you have to Carly. I love her." Jason rested his hand gently on Elizabeth's shoulder. "She's here because that's where we both want her to be."  
  
"I told you he was through pushing me away," Elizabeth said softly. "So you can stop trying to scare me away!"  
  
"Listen you little twit," Carly raged. "I didn't call your damn cell phone!"  
  
Jason looked between the two women trying to gauge what they were talking about.  
  
"The hell you didn't. You think I am stupid don't you? You think that I wouldn't remember what you said on the phone when you said it again to my face?" Elizabeth spat standing up.  
  
"What's going on?" Jason asked but neither of them answered him.  
  
"I don't know what the hell you are talking about little girl!"  
  
Elizabeth clenched her fists at her side and let out a muffled growl. She absolutely hated the condescending way Carly spoke to her. "I'm nobody's little girl. And deny it all you want but I know it was you who called me."  
  
Carly instinctively came forward claws drawn ready for a fight but Jason stepped between the pair. "What the hell are you talking about?"  
  
"You ask her," Elizabeth said. "Ask her what she said to me - standing right there."  
  
"Carly?"  
  
"I told you I don't know what she's talking about!"  
  
"Tell him Carly!" Elizabeth's voice grew louder.  
  
"Elizabeth, calm down okay?" Jason watched as her face began to grow pale. "Sit down okay?" He gestured toward the couch.  
  
"NO! Not until she tells you what she said."  
  
Carly just shrugged her shoulders offering no response.  
  
"She asked me if I liked playing house. It was her Jason. She's the one that called me on my cell this morning. She's trying to scare me and trying to get you to protect me by pushing me away. It was her." Elizabeth was adamant in her conviction.  
  
"Carly?" Jason turned back and looked the blonde square in the eyes.  
  
"What? I said I never called her. Because I didn't! Jase, I didn't call anyone today. I was with my mother all morning and afternoon. I have the bags across the hall to show for it." Jason gave her a disbelieving look. "Call Bobbie! She'll tell you. I never even so much as turned my phone on today. I NEVER called Elizabeth!" Carly's shrill voice echoed off the walls.  
  
"Yes you did!" Elizabeth forced, moving closer to the screaming blonde. She wasn't about to let Carly weasel her way out of this this time.  
  
"You better watch it little girl." It was Carly's turn to watch her words elicit fury from the other woman.  
  
"Back off!" Jason said in the voice he normally reserved for those in his "business" world. "You didn't call her?" he asked Carly point blank.  
  
"No," Carly's voice softened a bit. "I swear on Michael's life, Jason. I didn't call her."  
  
For one reason or another Jason was satisfied by her response. Maybe it was the invoking of Michael's name that had won him over, but really in his heart Jason knew that Carly wasn't the culprit. She was too in your face when it came to Elizabeth to stoop to making anonymous phone calls.  
  
"You believe me - don't you?" Carly's eyes pleaded with him.  
  
"Yeah I do."  
  
"What?" Elizabeth couldn't hide her surprise.  
  
"Won't you please sit down?" Jason turned to see his girlfriend looking as white as a ghost.  
  
"You believe her? Why?"  
  
"Because she wasn't the one who made the call," Jason stated.  
  
Carly gave Elizabeth a satisfied smile. "Told you Miss Muffin."  
  
"Shut up Carly." Jason shot an icy glare in her direction.  
  
Elizabeth blinked her eyes several times to stave off the tears burning her azure orbs. She had needed to believe that it was Carly who had called her. If it had been her then there would be nothing for Jason and her to worry about. A wave of fear engulfed her. All that had been happening over the last several weeks came rushing back. The phone calls, the divorce papers, Ric lurking around every corner - all of it was too much for her to handle.  
  
"Elizabeth..." Jason's voice was urgent as he saw her reach for his desk to steady herself. "You need to go NOW Carly. Baby, you dizzy?" Elizabeth nodded her head.  
  
"Jase.." Carly began to protest.  
  
"Just go!"  
  
Carly lingered for just a moment longer and watched as Jason helped Elizabeth to the couch and delicately rubbed her back the way he used to do for her when she was pregnant with Michael and was nauseous. Suddenly she felt as though she were intruding on a private moment and slipped out the door without another word. The heavy wooden door closed behind her and she pressed her back firmly against it as a single tear slid down her cheek. Jason indeed did love Elizabeth and there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it. 


	23. Explanation

Second Chances: Explanation  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jason returned from the kitchen glass of water in hand. He offered it to Elizabeth as he took his place beside her again. "Any better?" he asked. "You want me to call Tony or maybe Bobbie?"  
  
"I'm fine," she said seeing the concern in his crystal blue eyes. "I just let Carly get to me. Besides Tony did say that occasional dizziness goes along with having a concussion. You don't have to worry about me.  
  
"Yes I do. I should have gotten her out of here the minute I opened the door and saw her standing there." Jason pulled Elizabeth into his arms and both of them sunk deep into the leather folds of the couch.  
  
Elizabeth listened to the steady beat of Jason's heart beneath her ear. She didn't want to argue anymore but part of her needed to know why he was so sure that Carly wasn't the person behind her phone call earlier that day.  
  
"Jason," she began quietly. "About Carly..."  
  
"Forget about her."  
  
"Wish I could but," she paused.  
  
"But what?"  
  
"Why are you positive that she didn't call me?" Elizabeth brought her eyes to meet his.  
  
"I just am."  
  
"It's not that I don't trust you Jason but." she bit her lower lip as she watched his sky-blue eyes cloud with confusion.  
  
"You can tell me anything." Jason offered sensing that she was searching for a way to say what she needed to without upsetting him. He smiled slightly thinking how she still tried to make everything all right for everyone else. "You don't have to hide or pretend with me. Just because we told each other how we feel - that shouldn't change how we treat one another."  
  
Elizabeth let out a heavy sigh. "I just can't get passed how much of a coincidence it was that Carly spouted the same words that the person said on the phone this morning. It's just too weird Jason."  
  
"I agree but no matter how much of a coincidence it is Carly isn't your caller. Think about it - has Carly ever been anything but in your face when it came to me and our relationship?"  
  
Elizabeth did think about it. Jason was right. All those times prior Carly had almost attacked her when it had come to Jason. She was anything but subtle and anonymity wasn't her style either. "No," she reluctantly agreed.  
  
"She wouldn't make an anonymous phone call." Jason continued. "She'd do exactly what she did this afternoon and come storming in here thinking she could run you out of my life."  
  
"I know."  
  
"You wanted it to be her didn't you?"  
  
"Uh-huh." Elizabeth's teeth again were tugging at her bottom lip to stave off her tears.  
  
"That way you would know how to deal with it?"  
  
"Yes." Her voice was barely audible.  
  
Jason wrapped his arms around her again as she buried her face in the crock of his neck. He hated knowing that she was afraid. He hated not being able to do a damn thing about it. 'I told you Ric's off limits.' Jason heard Sonny's raised voice in his head. He clenched his jaw tight and pushed down those raging emotions that coursed through his veins. If roles were reversed and someone was after Carly or if she was frightened beyond reason Sonny would have been all over the person responsible. Yet Jason wasn't afforded the same privilege. All because Ric had played on Sonny's love for his dead mother.  
  
"Jason?" Elizabeth sat up again and looked at him. She had felt his body tense beneath her. "What's wrong?"  
  
How was he supposed to answer her question without adding to her fears? How was he supposed to tell her that his bike had been sabotaged? How was he supposed to tell her that Sonny while he may have been indebted to her for a great many things he couldn't see passed his own loyalty - warped as Jason thought it was - and let his enforcer handle the problem at hand?  
  
"Jason?" she pressed.  
  
"You should really be resting." He said trying his best to avoid her hard stare.  
  
"You can't pull that with me. What's wrong? Something happen with Sonny?" She hadn't forgotten how strained she thought things felt between the two men. "I know that you can't share everything with me and begrudgingly I will accept that, but something got to you. What is it?" Elizabeth crossed her legs Indian style beside him and waited for him to speak.  
  
Jason reached over and stroked her alabaster skin. It was smooth and soft against his fingers. He stared into her deep cobalt eyes and could have gotten lost in them. He was still having a difficult time fathoming that after all the ups, downs and misunderstandings they had finally made it to this place. He was almost fearful of doing something to trash it all over again.  
  
"I love you." She covered his hand with her own almost sensing his apprehension. "Please just talk to me. I can listen too you know."  
  
He leaned in and brought his lips on top of hers. He savored their sweetness. "I love you too." That simple sentence was one that he doubted he would ever grow tired of saying.  
  
"What's wrong?" she prodded.  
  
He blew a hard breath from his mouth and just began. "The accident, well it wasn't an accident.."  
  
"No more like a mistake for you to let me try to drive." Elizabeth smiled slyly.  
  
"It wasn't your fault. Someone tampered with the bike. They wanted it to crash."  
  
The tiny hairs on her body stood erect at that comment. "What?"  
  
"Someone meant for me to crash."  
  
"Jason." It wasn't as though Elizabeth didn't understand that most of the time there was a price on his head just because of his job. It wasn't like she hadn't pulled him from the snow bleeding from a gunshot wound. She wasn't that naïve yet to be face to face with it again had her more than a little unnerved.  
  
"I'm sorry that you got pulled into it. I don't think that you were ever meant to be an intended target. It was just supposed to be me."  
  
Instinctively she let her one good arm encircle his neck. She needed to have him close to her.  
  
"Easy," he said as he felt her body tremble.  
  
"Who?" she asked. "Who did it? Is that what Sonny wanted to talk to you about? Does he know who's responsible?"  
  
"We are having a difference of opinion on that." Jason sounded so diplomatic that Elizabeth gave him a funny look.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"Sonny can't see the real culprit so he's focusing on someone else."  
  
"You think it's Ric don't you?" Elizabeth's words sounded more like a statement of fact rather than a true question.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"You think all of it's been him?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Elizabeth covered her face with her hand and let out a labored sigh. "What the hell have I done?" she asked more of herself than Jason.  
  
"You haven't done a thing." He tried to reassure her.  
  
"How can you say that? Ric - all of what he's done is in one way or another tied to me. He's targeting you because of me. He held Carly hostage because of the child I lost.."  
  
"Ric's a sick bastard!" Jason stopped her before she could continue to blame herself. "His vendetta against Sonny was in place long before you ever came into his life. If anything he just used you as another way to prolong it. It's NOT your fault. Do you understand me?"  
  
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I still don't feel responsible." Elizabeth got up and walked across the living room. She stared out at the harbor and watched the waves roll in and disappear under the docks. "If I hadn't been so stubborn. If I had just talked to you about how hurt I was when you hid Sonny's fake death.."  
  
"If I had only gone after you." Jason's voice came up from behind her. "If I had just admitted that I needed you and not trusting you - when you had never given me reason not to - was a mistake."  
  
Elizabeth pivoted and stared at him. She was surprised to she the glints of unshed tears hanging in his eyes. "We both made mistakes," she said. "And to quote a very smart man I happen to love," Elizabeth smiled brightly at him. "There's no use in looking back."  
  
"I love you. Do you know how much?" Jason seized her lips again with an eagerness that took her breath away.  
  
"I think so, but you could try telling me again," she giggled when they finally parted.  
  
"I love you.I love you.I love you!" He picked her up and carried her over to the couch. "I don't think you got much rest in my absence."  
  
"Well Carly did put a stop to that."  
  
"Rest then. I have some invoices that I need to go over. We can grab some dinner later. Sound good?"  
  
"Yeah I'd like that. You think we could still go to my studio and get my things?"  
  
"Sure. We can do that. Rest!" He pointed to the pillow he had placed on the couch.  
  
"Jason," she hesitated for a second. "About Ric..."  
  
"Don't worry about Ric. He's not going to hurt you."  
  
"It's not me I am worried about." Without thinking she almost flew from her position and jumped into his arms. She wasn't ready to lose him when they had just found one another.  
  
"I'm going to be fine too. Please just relax okay? Try to get some sleep. You look tired, baby."  
  
Elizabeth let him cover her with her yellow afghan and she watched him out of the corner of her eye, as he went about his business not more than five feet away from where she lay.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Despite her best efforts not to she had fallen asleep and when she awoke she found Jason sitting in the club chair adjacent to the couch starting at her. "What?" she questioned. She smoothed her hand against her unruly curls. "Oh I must be a sight."  
  
"Uh-huh." Jason smiled more than pleased with the sight before him. "A beautiful sight."  
  
Elizabeth blushed. She wasn't accustomed to his compliments.  
  
"How are you feeling?" he asked.  
  
"Better thanks. How long was I asleep?" She turned and looked out the large windows that lined one wall of the penthouse to see the sun about to disappear into the harbor waters.  
  
"A couple hours."  
  
"Why didn't you wake me?"  
  
"Thought you could use the rest. Besides I like watching you."  
  
"Oh really?"  
  
"Uh-huh. So you up for dinner? I was thinking we would go to The Grille."  
  
"Well I don't think I am quite dressed for a place that fancy." She gestured to her current apparel.  
  
"Maybe not." He agreed. "How about Pizza and we go to The Grille tomorrow after you have all of your girlie things," he laughed.  
  
She playfully punched him. "Deal."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
They spent the next few hours eating pizza and chatting as if all those months of silence between them had never existed. Elizabeth looked longingly at the pool table that sat in the corner of the bar wishing that she could challenge him to a game.  
  
"You ready to go?" He asked reaching for the check the waitress had lain on the table.  
  
"Yeah." There was a wistful intonation in her voice.  
  
"What is it?" But before she could answer he followed her gaze with his own. "You want to play pool?"  
  
"And go for a ride." She added. She could have used the sounded of the wind rushing passed them to deaden the thoughts that no matter how hard she tried to escape still picked at her.  
  
"Well don't think you will be up for either of those things for a couple of weeks," he said sadly hating to deny her anything.  
  
"I know," she remarked resigning herself to the facts at hand.  
  
"You ready to go grab your things from your studio?"  
  
"Yeah let's go."  
  
She reached for the hand he offered and followed him to the door.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Here, give me the key." Jason brought forth his large hand so she could drop the key ring in his palm.  
  
She stifled a laugh as he jiggled the lock yet the dead bolt refused to budge. "Thought you could pick any lock, Mr. Morgan. Why is using a key so difficult? Here." It was now her turn to ask for the keys. "It sticks sometimes." With minimal effort on Elizabeth's part the lock slid and the door opened. "Score one for this Alias fan." She laughed but that laughter came to an abrupt halt. "Oh my God!" she gasped. 


	24. Boomerang

Second Chances: Boomerang  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jason and Elizabeth collided as he stepped forward and she backed out of her studio. He heard her gasp. "What? What's wrong?" he asked not understanding the alarm that consumed her features.  
  
"It's back - all of it."  
  
"What's back?" Jason was still confused as he took her hand and led her inside closing the door behind them.  
  
"All of it," she gestured to the things she had so franticly discarded days before.  
  
Jason scanned the room and to him nothing seemed out of the ordinary but he knew something was wrong by the way Elizabeth was reacting to her surroundings. "I don't understand," he admitted honestly.  
  
"I got rid of all of this." Elizabeth's voice was barely a whisper as her fingers glided over the torn canvases that were now taped back together. The Polaroid picture now sat in a frame on her work table and what was left of the dried flowers Ric had given her on their first date were in small vase on the window ledge.  
  
"I still don't understand." Jason reached for her arm forcing her to turn and face him. It was then he saw the tears puddling in her sapphire eyes. The second their gaze connected the flood gates that had been holding them back let loose and the torrents fell onto Elizabeth's cheeks. Not caring or needing an explanation at the moment Jason pulled her close as she buried her face in the folds of his leather jacket.  
  
When Elizabeth finally pulled back and wiped the remnants of tears from beneath her eyes she saw the puzzled look on Jason's face. She left his side and went around the small space collecting the things that had been so deliberately placed. As she wrestled with a canvas Jason came to her aide without questioning what she was doing or why. Once everything was in a pile on the floor before them she spoke.  
  
"All of this," she motioned to the heap in front of them. "These were the things that I wanted rid of. The paintings were for the phony gallery show Ric set up for me and the others are just things from my life with him I never want to see again. Max had Marco dump them for me." Jason's mind turned to his conversation with Max days ago - the day that Max found Elizabeth passed out on the floor. "It's all back," she choked.  
  
Jason bent down and began rummaging through the pile. His eyes were drawn to the small photo of what he assumed to be Ric and Elizabeth on their wedding day. He swallowed hard around the lump in his throat and thought how beautiful she looked standing there in her simple white dress and flowers woven in her chestnut locks. She even looked happy - in a way that pained him to think that she would be happy with someone other than him. He shook his head to put those thoughts in their proper place. What mattered most wasn't the past but the present and the future he saw for himself and Elizabeth.  
  
He ran his fingers along the taped edges of the canvases and recalled all the times he had watched her paint while he recovered from his gunshot wound. He remembered pulling a splinter from her finger when she had been too stubborn to accept his help in stretching canvases. He carried so many memories of them in his head and heart.  
  
Jason was so lost in his own thoughts that he had missed Elizabeth's muffled sobs as she stared blankly at the discard pile. Jason offered her his hand and led her to the sofa tucked in the corner of the studio. Again he was flooded with his own memories of that tiny piece of furniture. "Ssshhh," he whispered as she laid her head in his lap and began stroking her soft curls.  
  
"Why?"she asked. "Why is this happening?"  
  
Jason knew the answer but couldn't bring himself to say it out loud. It was a given that Ric was over the edge. He had been long before he ever concocted his plans of revenge against Sonny but Jason had to assume that losing Elizabeth had been the point of no return for Ric Lansing - and that frightened Jason more than he wanted to admit to himself or Elizabeth.  
  
"I think we both know why." Jason finally answered.  
  
Elizabeth sat up and looked at Jason. She pushed down the fear that threatened to consume every inch of her. If she hadn't known it prior she knew it now, Ric was indeed stalking her every move. There was a part of her that wanted - needed to believe that he wouldn't ever hurt her, yet the niggling in the back of her head said differently. She had seen just a glimpse of what her soon to be ex-husband was capable of and she couldn't lull herself into believing he wouldn't turn on her was well.  
  
"Jason, I'm scared." She finally admitted.  
  
"I know baby, I know." He pulled out his cell phone and placed a call. "Max, you and Marco need to get over to Elizabeth's studio. No she's not leaving the penthouse." Elizabeth smiled assuming that Max was questioning why. "We do have a problem though."  
  
"What are you going to do?" she asked when he had finished his conversation.  
  
"I'm going to have them get rid of this stuff for good this time. If that's what you still want?" His eyes searched hers for a reply.  
  
"Yes, that's exactly what I want." Elizabeth needed to be rid of those constant reminders of how stupid and foolish she had been about Ric Lansing.  
  
"Good then once that's taken care of I will have some of the guys come here and collect all of your art supplies and we can set up a studio for you in one of the spare bedrooms at the penthouse."  
  
Elizabeth felt a pang of loss. She didn't want to give up her studio. It was filled with so many memories for her - mostly memories of her and Jason. She knew that no matter what she would always have those recollections but somehow having the physical spot where it had all began was a comfort to her.  
  
"I don't know think I can give this place up," she said shyly. "To me this is our place."  
  
He understood what she meant. He felt the same pull to the place and to her. That was one of the reasons he had popped up there each time he came back into town. It was his memories and her. "You don't have to give it up. I just don't want you here right now. Not until we get a handle on Ric and what he's doing. Where are those divorce papers you said you got and that note?" Jason asked wanting something tangible he could show Sonny and prove that Ric was indeed the person responsible.  
  
Elizabeth got up from the sofa and made her way over to the table where she had left the remains of what should have been her signed divorce papers but nothing was there. No envelope, no shreds of paper and no note - nothing. "They're gone." She turned back and looked Jason square in the eye. "It's like they never were even here."  
  
"Damn," Jason said under his breath.  
  
Elizabeth reached for the utility sink next to her. Suddenly she was questioning her own sanity. Had there even been an envelope? Had she really thrown all of those things away? She shook her head to clear the cobwebs that suddenly filled her mind.  
  
"You okay?" Jason asked. She hadn't even realized that he had removed himself from the sofa and was standing beside her.  
  
"I don't know." That response concerned him. "Am I losing it Jason? Maybe I didn't really get those papers. Maybe I never even tried to throw these things away.."  
  
"Yes you did." Max's voice stopped Elizabeth's questioning of herself. "I tipped the guy who delivered them and Marco took all of stuff to the dumpster. All that really happened, Miss Webber."  
  
Elizabeth produced a weak smile. "Call me Elizabeth, please. And thank you Max for a minute I really did think I was losing it."  
  
Jason and Max exchanged knowing glances. That's exactly what Ric Lansing wanted. He wanted Elizabeth to question herself. He needed her to question everything in order to keep her off balance and give himself an inroad. That wasn't going to happen if Jason had anything to say about it.  
  
"Why don't you start collecting the things you want to take back to the penthouse? I will have Marco box them up for you as soon as he takes out the trash," Jason said kicking the pile on the floor. "I need to talk to Max for a minute. You sure you're fine?" he asked noticing how pale she was again.  
  
"I'm fine. Stop worrying." Elizabeth grinned and walked over to the closet on the other side of the room.  
  
"Any leads?" Jason questioned Max.  
  
"Not a damn thing. It's like the kid who made the delivery dropped off the face of the earth."  
  
"Maybe he did," Jason countered. "Did you speak with Alexis? Was she any help at all?"  
  
"All she would tell me was that she had the divorce papers sent to Ric weeks ago. She knew someone signed for them but that was all she could tell me. She hadn't heard from him or received anything back from him about them since."  
  
"Does she know who signed for them?"  
  
"She wouldn't tell me," Max said.  
  
"Well Sonny should know what service she uses for deliveries. I'll see what I can find out and let you know," Jason said. "In the mean time I want you to be Ric Lansing's shadow. I want to know everything about his life."  
  
"What about Elizabeth?" Max's eyes were drawn to the petite brunette across the room. "Who's going to be guarding her?"  
  
"I am." Jason said firmly. "She's still got a few weeks of recovery time for her shoulder so until then she will be with me or at the penthouse. I want all of this to be taken care of by then. Am I making myself clear?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
When the two men finished their talk, Jason went to help Elizabeth with the last of her things. "You about ready?" he asked as he hoisted the bag filled with her personal items over his shoulder.  
  
"I think so." She gave the room one more glance. Jason saw the sadness in her eyes.  
  
"You aren't giving the place up forever, I promise."  
  
"I know," she sighed. It was still difficult to leave it behind.  
  
"I'll have the locks changed tomorrow and when this is all settled you can come here and paint anytime you want."  
  
Elizabeth pulled the heavy steel door closed behind her with a thud that resonated through her body as well. Neither could shake the feeling that this was only the beginning.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
As soon as the dark sedan carrying Jason and Elizabeth was safely in the distance, Ric emerged from his hiding place in the shadows. He walked to the side of the building where several red and green dumpsters sat. He saw the smoldering embers of what had been his life with Elizabeth. Most of the things were now barely recognizable. The paintings were blackened, the flowers were mere ashes, yet sticking out of the rubble was the corner of the frame that held their wedding picture. Ric fished it out and dusted off the soot. The picture itself was distorted and had melted against the glass from the heat of the flames but to Ric it was still perfect. It was him and his wife. The way things were meant to be. 


	25. Missing Gifts

Second Chances: Missing Gifts  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jason smiled as he heard Elizabeth humming along with the soft music that wafted from his, no their he corrected himself, bedroom on the second floor. She had been quiet on the ride back from her studio. He knew that she had been lost in her own thoughts about what they had found there yet when they arrived at the penthouse it was like all of that had been forgotten. He was worried that she was trying to be strong for him, not showing him how truly frightened she was. Jason hated when she did that especially when she did it with him, but something told him not to push her at the moment. He recognized he needed to give her space to deal with her own feelings first even though all he really wanted to do was scoop her up in his arms and whisk her away to where Ric Lansing could never hurt her again.  
  
On that note Jason picked up the phone sitting on the corner of his desk and placed a call to Max. He wanted to know exactly where Mr. Lansing was and what he was doing.  
  
"So what's the update?" Jason asked after Max answered.  
  
"Nothing really. He's sitting in his living room."  
  
"Did you notice him lurking around Elizabeth's building at all?"  
  
"No, he was sitting at Kelly's when I found him nursing a cup of would you believe hot chocolate?" Max laughed.  
  
"Yeah I would." Jason almost asked if it had whipped cream and sprinkles on it as well but held his tongue. "Where did he go from there?"  
  
"Home and he's been there ever since."  
  
"Well keep me posted."  
  
"Sure thing." Max closed his cell phone and slipped it in the pocket of his overcoat and went back to observing Ric sitting on his sofa starring blankly into space.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Ric shook the glass in his hand as the ice bounced off the sides of the crystal. Empty again he thought as he poured more scotch into it. He leaned back into the sofa and with one swig consumed the light brown liquid. He repeated the pattern several more times before bringing the photo he had fished out of the charred rubble from beside Elizabeth's building into his line of sight. Through his liquor induced haze the picture was no longer distorted by the flames. To him it looked as perfect as the day that it had been taken. What expectations they had on that night, he sighed. They were going to be a family, a family like he had always wished for himself.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"You sure you don't need any help up there?" Jason called from the bottom of the steps.  
  
Elizabeth had insisted on unpacking her things herself and he wanted to be sure that she was feeling okay, but there was a bigger part of him that just wanted to be nearer to her. Since allowing her into his life fully it was like he was seeing things in a different light. He didn't want to waste a moment that they had together. In these last months he had come to understand how precious life and those that you loved truly were.  
  
"Would you stop worrying about me?" Elizabeth poked her head out from the bedroom door. "I'm fine." She smiled and blew him a kiss. "Not sure I can say the same thing for the contents of your closet, though," she giggled.  
  
"Just leave me a little space okay?" He shook his head laughing slightly knowing that he used very little of the closet anyhow. It would be nice to be able to see her clothes hanging there beside his few required business suits.  
  
Jason pulled the leather chair back from the desk and settled down to get some work accomplished. He had had some files brought over from the warehouse that needed his attention. He hadn't wanted to leave Elizabeth alone just yet, not until he got a better handle on what Ric's next move might be.  
  
He flipped through the pages but couldn't keep his thoughts focused on the task at hand. His mind wondered to the shredded divorce papers that had come up missing from Elizabeth's studio. He rested his hand on the phone and pulled it away. The last thing he wanted to do was call Sonny, yet what choice did he have if he wanted to get to the bottom of all of this. And he figured that a phone call versus an in person confrontation was the lesser of two evils.  
  
"Yeah?" Sonny barked.  
  
"Who does Alexis use as a messenger service?" Jason asked without a formal greeting.  
  
"What?" Sonny was surprised by the question.  
  
"Messenger service, do you know which one Alexis uses?" Jason questioned again.  
  
"Don't you think we have something more important to discuss?"  
  
Jason rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "No."  
  
"Like hell we don't! You want to tell me what the hell is going on between you and my wife?"  
  
"Nothing. I told her a few things she obviously didn't like or agree with. Now about Alexis." Jason chose to ignore Sonny's request for an explanation.  
  
"To hell with Alexis! I want to know what you said to my wife!" Sonny sounded, as though he was talking to a man he didn't even know. Jason heard the hard edge in his voice that was normally reserved for those who had ignored an order or had fucked up.  
  
"I told her I was in love with Elizabeth," Jason said matter of fact. "Getting the picture now?" He almost sounded sarcastic.  
  
Sonny was silent for a moment as he recalled his own argument with Carly over Jason's relationship with Elizabeth Webber. "What happened?" He asked with a softer tone.  
  
"It doesn't really matter. I really need that information about Alexis."  
  
"It does matter Jason. What happened between you two?"  
  
"She waltzed in her giving Elizabeth a hard time and well when she asked me if I loved her I just told her that I did. And when she couldn't get me to change my find she got upset. Typical Carly."  
  
"I'm sorry she went after Elizabeth." Jason was taken aback by Sonny's words almost enough to lull him into thinking that he might have a chance to get his friend to see the light. ".but you know how Carly feels about her involvement in what Ric did to her."  
  
"What involvement? Elizabeth didn't have anything to do with what Ric did.except for having a miscarriage which I highly doubt she planned!" Jason raised his voice forgetting that Elizabeth was right up the stairs. "Forget it! I'll handle this myself!"  
  
"Handle what? Jason. Jason." The line went dead in Sonny's ear.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Ric staggered his way to the second floor bedroom that in the last few days Faith had seemed to take over. Her black negligee was draped over the chair in the corner, a tube of blood red lipstick and bottle of nail polish to match rested on the bureau. He felt himself want to heave as he glanced at the disheveled unmade bed in the middle of the room. He didn't know if that feeling came from the puddle of alcohol swirling around in his stomach or the fact that he had let Faith Roscoe take up residence in a place that he had once held for Elizabeth and Elizabeth alone.  
  
He shook his head slightly to rid himself of the images of having sex with Faith. He reached into the back of the closet and pulled out the box of Elizabeth's possessions he had hidden there. He laid the scorched photo on the floor next to him as he sat down and ran his fingers through the contents of the box as though he was a pirate who had just located a sunken treasure. Finally he pulled out a small box and lifted the lid carefully. He folded back the tissue paper to reveal the brilliant red glass.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Elizabeth had nearly finished emptying the boxes that Marco had brought from her studio. She was amazed at how much that little room had actually held when it was scattered around the master bedroom of Jason's penthouse and that didn't include the art supplies and canvases that were waiting for her across the hall in the room that would be her make shift studio until she could return to her real one.  
  
Elizabeth sat on the edge of the bed and tried not to think about Ric or the bizarre things he was capable of yet that was much easier said than done. How had she missed all of the signs when they had been together? How had she been so stupid to fall for so many lies even when her head was telling her not to? In the back of her mind she knew the answer. She was looking for a way to forget about the hurt of leaving Jason, the hurt of him not racing after her to try and stop her or to get her to listen to his explanations. And when he did finally come to her with his concerns about Ric she pushed him away and said horrible things to him. She had no one but herself to blame for what Ric was now doing. She had given him the opportunity, means and possibly the motive.  
  
Elizabeth smiled at the baseball bat that sat in the corner by the door. She almost laughed thinking that she probably wouldn't be needing that now. But the memory of when Jason taught her the best way to defend herself sprang to mind. She remembered how his arms felt wrapped around her as he tried to show her how to level a powerful swing.  
  
Jason had given her what most women would have considered an odd array of presents - certainly not typical in the least but she loved each and every one of them. She still had the leather jacket he had given her that first Christmas they spent in her studio. It was one of her most prized possession along with the post card from Italy, the baseball bat and her piece of beautiful red glass. She hadn't thought about that in a long time. She had tucked it away for safe keeping when she had left Jason's penthouse all those months ago. She had the sudden urge to see it again.  
  
Elizabeth walked across the room to where she had sat a small wooden box on the bureau. She lifted the lid and first found her postcard and a few other pieces of jewelry that her grandmother had given her, but the small box she was looking for was no where to be found. She turned it upside down and emptied the contents out onto the top of the dresser. Not that that helped since what she was looking for was still missing. Frantically she began scouring the room and the empty boxes scattered about - still nothing.  
  
"Where the hell can it be?" she asked herself as she turned around too quickly sending a pile of her belongs to the floor with a resounding crash.  
  
"Elizabeth?" At the sound Jason immediately bounded up the staircase fearing the worse. "Elizabeth, you okay?"  
  
"No."  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"It's gone."  
  
"What's gone?"  
  
"My red glass. The red glass you gave me on Valentine's day it's gone."  
  
"Are you sure?" Jason's mind immediately leapt to Ric but he didn't want to verbalize his thoughts. "You sure it's not in another one of the boxes?" he asked as he began rummaging through the empties himself.  
  
"Jason it's not here. I kept it in this box in its own box wrapped in tissue paper. It's gone." He saw the tears threatening escape from behind her big blue eyes. "I can't believe I lost it," she sighed her voice filled with anguish.  
  
"Maybe it's still at your studio," Jason offered.  
  
"I don't know. I haven't taken it out of the box in months. I put it away from safekeeping. So much for that." Elizabeth slumped down on the bed in defeat. It felt like she had lost a piece of their past.  
  
"I'll go back and look for it if you want." There wasn't a thing that he could deny her.  
  
"Would you?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Ric sat on the floor holding the red glass up to the light. It cast a brilliant kaleidoscope on the cream walls of the room.  
  
"Hi honey I'm home." Faith's voice entered the room before she did giving Ric just enough time to push the box of Elizabeth's things back into his closet. "Miss me?" she purred in his ear as she ran her hands over his shoulders and down his chest.  
  
"Always," he answered as he tilted his head to kiss her. "Where were you?" he asked. There was still a part of him that trusted her very little when it came to Elizabeth. Ric wasn't about to put anything past Ms. Roscoe.  
  
"Keeping tabs on our little business venture. Apparently there is descention in the ranks. Sonny and Jason are feuding." Faith smiled like the cat that had just swallowed the canary. She was loving every delicious minute of what she considered the beginning of Sonny's downfall.  
  
"Feuding huh?" Ric stood up removing himself from Faith's entangling arms. He had to wonder exactly what they would be arguing about. To him the pair had always been thick as thieves to coin a familiar phrase. Ric had known that Jason was less than pleased with Sonny's unwillingness to kill him so he was sure that was part of the trouble.  
  
"I think it's time we make a move. Strike while the iron is hot if you know what I mean?"  
  
"What did you have in mind?" Ric turned around to face her. He wasn't against any plan that would rid him of his brother not to mention adversary Jason Morgan.  
  
"Well," Faith began as she edged her way closer to him reaching for his hand. "What's that?" she asked as she felt something smooth in his palm.  
  
Damn, he thought to himself as Faith easily took the red glass from his hand. He had completely forgotten that he was still holding it. He fumbled for a second without a quick remark for her question. "It was supposed to be a surprise."  
  
"Surprise?" Faith gave him a suspicious look.  
  
"Yes," he said capturing her waist in his arms. "I can't have a surprise for my lady?" Ric vaguely wondered to himself if he was laying it on a little to thick even for her. But seeing the smile tug at Faith's lips he knew he hadn't.  
  
"What is it?" she asked giving a closer inspection.  
  
"I was going to turn it into a heart pendant for you. The fiery red immediately made me think of you." It amazed him how quickly he spun this web of lies and how easily Faith bought it. He almost felt sorry for her, she seemed to crave attention and with him she let down her guard more than he had ever expected her to. "I was getting ready to run to the jewelers to have it done."  
  
Faith stared at the vibrant red. "This made you think of me?"  
  
"Yes. Look how well it matches your signature color." Ric continued to spin his tale when he picked up the bottle of nail polish to illustrate what a close match the reds were in color.  
  
"I like it the way it is."  
  
"What?" Ric furrowed his brow confused by what she meant.  
  
"I like it the way it is." Faith ran her fingers across the jagged edges of the glass's misshapen form. "I want to keep it the way it is - no heart. It suits me don't you think?" She smiled seductively.  
  
"You don't want it made into a necklace then?" In a way Ric was relieved to hear that since he intended at some point to return it to its rightful owner.  
  
"No, I want the necklace just not in the shape of a heart."  
  
"Oh, I see."  
  
"You said you were on your way out to the jewelers, I'll come with you." Faith picked up her coat she had dropped on the bed and led Ric from the room.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"What's taking him so long?" Elizabeth said to no one in particular even though Marco chose to answer her.  
  
"I'm sure he's just making sure he didn't miss anything."  
  
"I'm going up there." Elizabeth reached for the door.  
  
"Miss Webber, Mr. Morgan left specific instructions that you were to wait here in the car with me."  
  
Where was Max when she needed him, Elizabeth thought to herself? Before she could protest further Jason emerged from the building.  
  
"Well?" she asked before he even had the back door to the sedan closed.  
  
"I turned the place upside down, baby. It's not there." Elizabeth let out a disappointed sigh as Jason wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "I promise when we go to Italy, I'll get you as many pieces of red glass as you want."  
  
"It's not the same."  
  
"I know." Jason agreed. 


	26. Smoke Screen

Second Chances: Smoke Screen  
  
Jason looked around the living room of the penthouse and smiled thinking what a difference a few weeks made. To the naked eye nothing appeared to be all that different. The room was still sparsely filled with only his beloved pool table, brown leather couch and chair and the desk sitting off in the corner. But to him the random placement of Elizabeth's things, her sweater draped over the leather office chair, her shoes left either under the desk or beside the couch, an occasional mug half filled with hot chocolate she had left sitting here or there, it finally felt like home to him.  
  
He heard her upstairs getting ready for her final appointment with Dr. Jones that morning. He had accompanied her to every physical therapy session for her shoulder and helped her with her exercises at home too. It seemed as though they were inseparable, partly because Jason was still being cautious but mostly because he couldn't stand being away from her for very long.  
  
While things had quieted down considerably since Elizabeth had moved in, there was still a part of him waiting for the other shoe to drop. He checked in daily with Max for reports on Ric Lansing which proved to be rather uneventful. It was almost as if he knew he was being watched and that made Jason all the more leery. The only red flag that Max had been able to give him was the fact that Faith Roscoe seemed to come and go freely from Lansing's home. That thought forced him to recall Sonny's comments about Faith being behind everything that had happened. Yet he couldn't make the pieces fit with all off the things concerning Elizabeth. For Faith, Elizabeth had only been an obstacle that stood between her and what she wanted - Ric Lansing. Now that Elizabeth was no longer part of that equation for Jason it all just didn't add up. In his gut he knew that whatever part Faith played in this Ric was at the heart of it.  
  
"Hey you," Elizabeth's soft voice startled him.  
  
"Hey."  
  
"You must be losing your touch."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I didn't think you ever let anyone sneak up on you?" She grinned.  
  
"Who says you did?" Jason turned around and captured her in his arms kissing her lightly on the mouth.  
  
"If you say so." Elizabeth said as she moved away from him to collect her purse and compact from the table.  
  
"I was just thinking that's all." Jason offered sensing she knew he was being less than truthful. "I didn't expect you to be ready yet."  
  
"I'm past ready. I can't wait to get my life back." Immediately she saw his features fall. "You know what I mean." She reached up and brought his eyes to meet her own. "I love being here with you. You are my life but I need to get back to the business of living. I need to get back to work. I need to feel useful. Can you understand that?"  
  
"Yeah." He smiled softly. That was the Elizabeth he knew and loved. She was always such a major part of everything around her. He knew that it was difficult for her to be cooped up not being able to do the things she loved.  
  
"You didn't think that you'd get rid of me that easily did you?" she laughed. "What were you thinking about when I came in?" she asked casually not expecting to get a response.  
  
"Nothing really."  
  
"You sure?" She didn't want to push him but in the several weeks she had been living there it was hard not to notice the rather strained relationship Jason suddenly was having with Sonny. "Is Sonny upset I'm living here? Is he angry about what happened with Carly the other day?"  
  
"I don't know and really it doesn't make much difference to me," Jason said flatly.  
  
"Jason, I don't want our relationship to cost you your friendship with Sonny." Elizabeth reached for his hand as a gentle reminder of how much she cared for him and hated to see him hurting. "Sonny's your family."  
  
"No," he interrupted her. "You're my family. Sonny's just my business partner." Before she was able to make a reply to his comment the phone on the desk let out a shrill ring. "Yeah?" Elizabeth laced her fingers through his as she stood and listened to his end of the conversation. "No, I can't come to the warehouse right now. No, you'll have to handle it. Hang on," he said when she tugged at his hand.  
  
"Sounds important. You should probably take care of it."  
  
"No, I'm taking you to your appointment."  
  
"I'll be fine. It's only a formality anyway. You go take care of what you need to."  
  
"Elizabeth." Before he could say anymore she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him.  
  
"I only have one request. I would like Max to take me to the hospital instead of Marco."  
  
Jason tore his eyes away from her and focused his attention to the person on the other end of the line. "I'll be there when I can. Did Marco do something?" Jason asked as he replaced the receiver in its cradle. "Is that why you don't want him to take you?" Jason had caught the younger guard staring intently at Elizabeth on several occasions when he thought no one was looking.  
  
"No, nothing like that." Elizabeth could tell by his hard stare what was going through Jason's mind at the moment. The last thing she wanted was for poor Marco to meet with the enforcer's wrath. "I just know Max better. I feel more comfortable around him. It's me it has nothing to do with Marco."  
  
"Well Max is actually working on something for me right now. I'd rather not pull him off of it." Jason watched Elizabeth's lower lip jut out into a playful pout. He felt himself smirk thinking how perfectly she knew how to play her part. "I'll call him." Jason relented.  
  
"Thank you," she giggled.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Elizabeth and Max stepped off the elevator on the third floor and ran into Monica and Zander. They were standing off to the side and it was easy to tell that both were upset.  
  
"Hi," Elizabeth said as she approached them. Quickly Monica wiped the remnants of tears from her beneath her eyes.  
  
Elizabeth's heart ached for them. She had let herself get so wrapped in her own life that she had forgotten about those still grieving Emily's death. Zander looked like a shadow of his former self and it was easy to see that Monica was just going through the necessary motions.  
  
"Elizabeth." Monica embraced her tightly. "Oh I'm sorry I didn't mean to hurt you," she said as she saw the young girl hide a wince.  
  
"I'm fine really." Elizabeth reassured. "So fine in fact I am expecting to be released from Dr. Jones' care by this afternoon."  
  
"Dr. Jones?" Zander questioned. "What happened?" He couldn't help but think back to that day in the cemetery when he had stumbled onto Ric almost accosting her.  
  
"Jason and I had a little accident on his bike."  
  
"How is Jason?" Monica asked.  
  
"He's good." Elizabeth always felt bad when it came to the tenuous relationship between Monica and her son. It was almost as if she knew more about him than his own mother, perhaps she did. "I don't mean to cut this short but I have to get to my appointment. Do you think you might have a few minutes later this morning?" she said to Monica. "We could grab some coffee in the cafeteria."  
  
"I'd like that. Thank you. Page me when you are finished with Tony."  
  
"I'll do that."  
  
Zander and Monica watched as she and Max headed up the corridor to Tony Jones' office.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jason looked over the shipment sitting on the pallets in front of him. He understood why his presence was so urgent. He ran his hands through the contents of the crates and rather than coming up with just handfuls of coffee beans they were laced with a fine white powder. The entire shipment had been contaminated.  
  
"Are they all like this?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah." The foreman answered.  
  
"Damn it!" Jason threw the crowbar to the floor not bothering to open the last remaining bins.  
  
"What do you want us to do with all of them?" the man asked.  
  
"We don't have much choice do we. Burn them all," Jason responded. "There can't be a trace of any of this shipment. I can't risk Taggert or Baldwin getting wind of this.."  
  
"Getting wind of what?" Sonny asked.  
  
Jason dropped his head, closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. "This latest shipment is filled with cocaine, maybe heroin."  
  
"Show me," Sonny instructed. The foreman cracked open a crate to confirm what Jason had just told him. "This doesn't make any sense. It's just scattered there loose."  
  
"That's what I was thinking. It didn't make sense to me either."  
  
"Are you sure it's drugs and not something else?" Sonny questioned.  
  
"Do you want to have it tested?"  
  
"Don't you?" Sonny retorted. "Given Faith's penchant poison we can't be too careful."  
  
Jason just nodded his head not wanting to have the same old tired argument with his friend. Besides for once he actually agreed with him on who the culprit for this latest scheme had been. "I'll get a sample to Meyer right away."  
  
"Glad we can finally agree on something," Sonny remarked before turning and leaving as quickly as he had come.  
  
Jason almost stopped him but resisted the urge. Normally he would have tried to make things right between the two of them, but this time he wasn't sure if that was possible.  
  
He scooped up a sample of the white powder intermingled with the coffee beans and placed it in a plastic bag and headed for Meyer. Part of him wanted it to be Faith's signature poison. At least then maybe he could work off some of his pent up aggression and hell if Ric Lansing got caught in the crossfire of taking care of Ms. Roscoe so be it, Jason thought.  
  
A half hour later Jason returned to the warehouse. He had wanted to go to the hospital and surprise Elizabeth but Meyer assured him he would have an answer for him and Sonny in a few hours so it was worthless to go only to be pulled away from her again.  
  
He settled down at his desk and began to calculate just how much this little mishap would cost them in terms of dollars. It was then that he noticed the brown paper bag perched on the corner of the desk. Instantly it reminded him of all the times Elizabeth had brought him food from Kelly's in those very same bags. She always accused him of not eating enough. He wondered if this was her way of reminding him of that fact.  
  
Even though he wasn't hungry he opened the bag eagerly certain that there would be a note tucked inside from Elizabeth. She had always been so good about leaving them for him. Suddenly he felt like some lovesick schoolboy but a part of him didn't even care. If this was what it felt like to be full on in love with someone - Elizabeth - then he was more than happy with the sensations.  
  
He emptied the contents of the bag on the desk before him. If he had been a man with a squeamish stomach the site of the dead mouse would have done him in. Instead though Jason picked it up by its rigid tail and found the note affixed to the rodent. He pulled at the piece of paper and read it.  
  
'Next time it could be you!'  
  
Immediately Jason pulled out his cell phone and began to dial. "Meyer, I've got something else I need you to look at," Jason said as he dropped the mouse back in the brown sack and headed for the door.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Elizabeth exited Tony Jones' office with a clean bill of health. It felt good to no longer have her arm in a sling. She was looking forward to getting back to the normal routine of her life. But then again what was normal she thought? Nothing about her life since she had met Jason had been what most people would term normal then factor into the mix Ric Lansing and any semblance of normal went right out the window.  
  
But Elizabeth didn't care about normal anymore. All that mattered to her was that she and Jason loved each other and the rest of it would fall into place - she hoped.  
  
"Elizabeth?" Max's voice startled her. "Are you all right?" he asked trying to gauge her expression.  
  
"I'm fine Max. No need to call Jason," she winked. "I promise."  
  
Max felt himself blush a bit. He couldn't help but be as protective of her as his boss was. There was just something about Elizabeth Webber that made men want to protect her. "You ready to go back to the penthouse?"  
  
"Actually I told Monica that I would have coffee with her. I just have to go to the nurse's station and page her."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Max followed her to the third floor nurses station. "Hi Elizabeth," Maxie Jones said.  
  
"Hi, could you page Dr. Quatermaine for me?"  
  
"Alan or Monica? They are both on today."  
  
"Monica please."  
  
"Elizabeth," Max tapped her on the shoulder. "I have to take this call."  
  
"Sure go ahead."  
  
"I'll be right around the corner."  
  
"I'll be fine Max." She stressed with a smile.  
  
After hearing the page for Monica over the hospital intercom, Elizabeth took a seat on one of the sofas in the lounge area and waited for Jason's mother to arrive.  
  
"Elizabeth." Her body tensed at the sight of Ric and sound of his voice. "Is everything all right?"  
  
"I'm fine Ric. What do you want?" Her tone curt. "What are you even doing here?" Immediately she thought he was following her.  
  
"I was here to see a client," he said in his sincerest voice. "I had no idea you would be here. But I am glad that you are. I have something for you." Elizabeth pulled back as he reached into his briefcase. He stifled his anger at how fearful she was of him.  
  
"What?" she questioned wearily almost ready to scream so that Max would come running.  
  
"Here." He handed her an envelope with Alexis' return address in the corner. "I apologize for dragging my feet in signing those. I know that you want our marriage dissolved as soon as possible. I agreed not to contest the divorce."  
  
Elizabeth was stunned. Had she just heard him right? He wasn't going to contest their divorce? "What's the catch, Ric?" she said with disbelief.  
  
"No catch. All I have ever wanted was for you to be happy.."  
  
"Lansing," Max's booming voice drowned out any further words Ric might have been saying. "If you know what's good for you you will walk away right now."  
  
"Max," Elizabeth's soft tone crept between the two men who were suddenly at a stand off. "I'm fine. Ric was just giving me my divorce papers."  
  
"I'd like to see them," the guard said.  
  
Elizabeth handed them over to him without reservation. She knew he wanted to be sure that they were indeed her divorce papers and not just some rouse like before. Ric watched patiently as the large man looked over the documents as if had been his soon to be ex-wife's attorney.  
  
"Everything in order?" Ric asked smartly.  
  
"Thank you for this," Elizabeth said to Ric as Max handed her back the envelope.  
  
"Elizabeth," Maxie called to her from the nurse's station. "Monica was called to consult on an emergency surgery. She's not going to be able to meet you after all."  
  
"Okay. Thanks for letting me know. It looks like we are done here," she said turning to Max.  
  
"Back to the penthouse?" he questioned never taking his eyes off of a man he considered a predator.  
  
"Actually I'd like to go to Kelly's and let them know that they can start putting me back on the schedule. Dr. Jones cleared me to return to work."  
  
"Are you sure that's a good idea?"  
  
"Did you need something more?" Elizabeth inquired to Ric who had yet to leave. "Don't you have a client you need to see?"  
  
"Right..goodbye Elizabeth."  
  
"Goodbye Ric."  
  
He looked on as she and Max boarded the elevator. He felt his chest tighten as the doors closed and he could no longer see her. He wasn't about to let this be goodbye.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Max sat at one of the round tables at Kelly's drinking coffee as he waited for Elizabeth to take care of getting herself put back on the waitress schedule. He wished he could have gotten in touch with Jason. He was sure that having Elizabeth back working was the last thing Jason would have wanted even though he wouldn't have tired to stop her. Something just didn't feel right about this and as the door behind him swung open he instantly knew why. Faith Roscoe had just waltzed into Kelly's and made a beeline for the counter where Elizabeth was standing. 


	27. Battle Lines

Second Chances: Battle Lines  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Max sat at a small round table keeping one eye on Elizabeth and one on the door of Kelly's diner. After their little exchange with Lansing at the hospital he decided to keep his guard up. He knew that Elizabeth was thrilled that Ric had signed the divorce papers and handed them over so willingly, but Max wasn't as convinced by his show of good faith. Too many things just didn't add up. Ric's sudden change in demeanor didn't make any sense.  
  
The bell above the door jingled and in walked Faith Roscoe who headed directly to where Elizabeth was standing at the counter.  
  
"Thanks so much for covering for me while I was recuperating from the accident," Elizabeth said to Penny. "I'm ready to get back to work though."  
  
"Jason not keeping you busy enough at home sweetie?" Faith cooed.  
  
Elizabeth turned and stared directly into the eyes of the woman who had more than once tried to kill her.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Meyer!" Jason's voice boomed as he thundered into the man's office throwing the brown paper sack onto his desk.  
  
"Nice to see you too Jason, but bringing lunch wasn't necessary." Without saying a word Jason lifted the bag from where it had landed and haphazardly pulled at the opening exposing its contents. "What the hell is that?" The man behind the desk wrinkled his nose at the sight of the stiff rodent.  
  
"You tell me," Jason said as he dumped the dead mouse in the middle of the desk.  
  
Gingerly Meyer picked up the animal by its rigid tail and gave it another hard look. "Where did you find it and what does it have to do with me? I'm no exterminator."  
  
"I want to know what killed it."  
  
"What?" The other man stared at Jason with utter confusion on his face. "Back up. I think you lost me here."  
  
Jason raked his hands through his spiked blonde hair and let out a ragged breath. This day was ending up nothing like he had planned. Immediately thoughts of Elizabeth filled his head and the only thing he wanted to do was get back to her.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"What do you want Faith?" Elizabeth asked pointedly.  
  
"Coffee would be nice." She smiled sweetly as she turned over the cup that sat before her placing it in its saucer.  
  
"Elizabeth," Max approached the two women. "Are you ready?"  
  
"Oh," Faith sneered as she looked at the burly bodyguard who had come to Elizabeth's rescue. "And here I thought that Morgan wasn't letting you out of his sight. You must be losing your touch." She brought the steaming coffee to her lips as she watched the young brunette's eyes cloud with anger.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Meyer sat silently waiting for Jason to tell him what the dead mouse on his desk was all about.  
  
"Here." Jason fished the note from his pocket and placed it alongside the mouse.  
  
"What's this?" Meyer picked it up and read the sprawling script. 'Next time it could be you!' He almost laughed at what he read and how the threat - if it could even be called that was delivered. "You have got to be kidding right?"  
  
"Do I look like I am kidding?" Jason's voice grew irritated. "Did you come up with anything on that sample I gave you? Was it drugs or poison?"  
  
"I just got the results back. I was about to call you and Sonny.."  
  
"No need to call I'm here." Sonny approached the pair. "So what did you find out?" The mob boss asked.  
  
"What do you want me to do with this?" Meyer pushed the dead rodent to the corner of his desk.  
  
"I want you to find out what killed it," Jason said matter of fact.  
  
"Excuse me? It's a dead mouse for god sakes. You can't be taking this seriously can you?" The man behind the desk stared at the enforcer as though he had lost his mind.  
  
"It's a dead mouse but it's definitely a message," Jason retorted hating being questioned by those who were paid to listen and obey. He gave a sideways glance at Sonny and wondered if that's how he was feeling about him lately.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"If you have something to say Faith just say it. I don't have time for this," Elizabeth spouted.  
  
"My, my haven't we grown a back bone?" Faith taunted. "So it seems Morgan has been teaching you a few things," she sneered.  
  
"Elizabeth, let's go," Max prompted.  
  
"What do you want Faith?" Elizabeth's voice grew louder.  
  
"Really I just wanted to check on you. I heard about your accident. Someone should have warned you how dangerous motorcycles can be."  
  
Elizabeth stared at her from the other side of the countered and resisted the urge to reach across and wipe the smug smile that the blonde wore from her lips. She knew that Faith was goading her but she couldn't help herself from falling into the trap.  
  
"They aren't nearly as dangerous as knowing you is."  
  
"And don't you forget that!" Faith hissed.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Dead mouse? Message? What the hell's going on now?" Sonny asked exasperated.  
  
"I found this in my office at the warehouse when I came back from dropping the sample from the shipment." Sonny looked at the note and the prone mouse on Meyer's desk. "I want to know what killed the mouse. So maybe we can trace it back to whoever sent it." The ringing of Jason's cell phone stopped him before he could continue. "Morgan," he said as he brought it to his ear. "Did you see who made the delivery? Was it Gavin from Kelly's?"  
  
Sonny and Meyer watched and listened as Jason finished his conversation. "What was that all about?" Sonny asked.  
  
"I wanted to know if anyone saw who dropped off my lunch." Jason stressed the word.  
  
"And?" Sonny prodded.  
  
"It wasn't anyone from Kelly's. The guys said it was some blonde."  
  
"Faith?" Sonny cocked his brow as he thought how brazen Roscoe's widow was becoming.  
  
"No one could say for sure."  
  
"Here, take care of this." Sonny flipped the dead mouse in Meyer's direction. "What did you come with up from the shipment?"  
  
Meyer placed the rodent back in the paper bag and offered a folder to his boss and the enforcer. "Would you believe it's common cake flour?"  
  
"What?" Jason and Sonny said in unison.  
  
"You heard me it's not drugs, not poison, simple flour."  
  
"Shit! We burned the shipment for nothing." Jason slammed his hand down on the desk.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Max knew a threat when he heard one and he wasn't about to let Ms. Roscoe get the upper hand. He moved next to her linking his arm through hers placing a vice like grip on her forearm. "You wanted your coffee to go isn't that right Ms. Roscoe?" he asked.  
  
"Take your hands off of me!" she snarled throwing her arm up in the air. That quick action caused Faith's red pendant to come into view suddenly.  
  
"Where did you get that?" Elizabeth couldn't take her eyes off of the necklace.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sonny waited for Meyer to leave the room before he turned to Jason. "Do you believe me now that Faith is responsible? Only she would do things this crazy - no stupid," Sonny corrected.  
  
Jason dropped noisily down in a chair in the corner of the room unsure what he was supposed to be thinking anymore. This was like no assault they had encountered before. It was as if there was no rhyme or reason to it. And as much as he hated to admit it, it reeked of Faith Roscoe.  
  
"Well?" Sonny nudged him for a response.  
  
"Have your guys come up with anything from tailing her?" Jason wasn't ready to concede his position on Ric Lansing just yet.  
  
"Typical Faith stuff. You know how she loves to grand stand, make threats. Nothing out of the ordinary."  
  
"So then you are just assuming that she's tied to this?" Jason wondered why Sonny hadn't mentioned her association with Ric. He knew that she was all but living with him. So why hadn't his boss known that? And if he did know why was he holding back?  
  
"She's trying to keep us off balance. And if you ask me it's working." Sonny let out a frustrated sigh. He hated the tension between the two of them. "She's loving every minute of us being at odds." His own thoughts come forth. "It's her way in. Divide and conquer."  
  
Jason leaned forward in the chair and let his elbows rest heavy on his knees. Sonny was truthful in his words. Several men in the organization had mentioned hearing rumblings from those outside of the Corinthos camp talking about the widening gap between the boss and his right hand. Jason hated it but he couldn't bring himself to just allow his own gut instincts about Ric to be overridden.  
  
"We need to be together on this Jason."  
  
If he hadn't known better Jason could have sworn that there was a pleading in Sonny's tone. "I have always backed you up. I wish I could say the same for you." Before Sonny could respond Jason's phone rang. "Yeah?"  
  
"I think you need to get to Kelly's right now."  
  
"What happened Max? Is Elizabeth okay?" Sonny watched as alarm filled Jason's features.  
  
"I'm not sure man. Faith was here and Elizabeth's going on about some piece of red glass - she's crying man."  
  
"I'll be right there!" Jason interrupted him. "I got to go," he turned to Sonny before sprinting toward the door.  
  
"Is Elizabeth okay?" Sonny called after him.  
  
"I think so - I don't know. Max said something about Faith." In all honesty Jason didn't know what was going on, how it involved Faith and Max mentioned Elizabeth's missing red glass from Italy. All he wanted to do at the moment is get to her.  
  
Sonny watched Jason's retreating back and finally let his eyes fall shut. He had wanted to tell him what he knew about Faith's involvement with Ric. He had wanted to attempt to mend fences between them. He was well aware of just how much Jason loved Elizabeth. He had finally been able to get Carly to explain to him what happened that day in Jason's penthouse. That explanation just confirmed what he had already known - that Jason would protect Elizabeth at any cost. He would have done the same if it had been Carly. But had he Sonny questioned his own actions? For all intents and purposes Ric Lansing should be dead for what he had done to Sonny's family, but that was the catch - family. Ric was his family too.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?!?" Elizabeth demanded again as she reached out and touched the red pendant swinging around Faith's neck. Beyond a shadow of a doubt Elizabeth knew that was her red glass no matter what shape it was now in. The red glass that Jason had given her on Valentine's day. The red glass missing from the things from her studio.  
  
"None of your damn business."  
  
"That's mine!" Elizabeth shrieked as she ripped the chain from Faith's neck.  
  
"You little wench!" Faith scrambled to retrieve the pendant dangling from Elizabeth's fingers.  
  
"Where did you get it?" Elizabeth pressed for an answer as she clung tightly to her missing possession.  
  
"Give me that!" Faith yelled as she nearly climbed over the counter snatching her jewelry back. "You're fucking nuts you know that?" Faith said as she straightened her skirt and threw on her long leather coat.  
  
"Max, that's mine. I want it back. Jason gave that to me. I want it back!"  
  
Faith listened to the hysterical ramblings of the petite brunette as she made her way out the door. Once outside she held the lustrous red pendant up to the light. The sun reflected brilliantly through the prisms in the glass. "Made you think of me huh?" Faith hissed as she recalled the not so long ago conversation she had had with Ric. 


	28. Face Off

Second Chances: Face Off  
  
Faith slipped behind the wheel of her sleek black spider coupe. The broken gold chain still laced between her fingers. The crimson glass swung gently from the motion of her trembling hands. Fury raged through every inch of her being as both Ric and Elizabeth's words mingled in her mind.  
  
'The fiery red immediately made me think of you.'. Faith recalled how Ric smiled at her when he had said that and how delicately took her hand in his that night. She was now kicking herself for how quickly she fell for his rouse.  
  
Next Elizabeth's piercing voice assaulted her. 'Max, that's mine. Jason gave it to me. I want it back!'.  
  
Faith focused her hard stare on the pendant hanging from her fingers. She let out a shrill scream that echoed off the car's supple leather interior. She couldn't believe she had let herself be played so willingly by Ric. If she hadn't been so furious, she might have marveled at his tactics. What a force the two of them could be if he wasn't so hell bent on pining for a woman so unworthy of him. If Ric could only see what she had to offer. They could be a force to be reckoned with. A force that could easily eliminate Sonny Corinthos and Jason Morgan.  
  
Faith fingered the smooth glass that now sat in the palm of her hand and glared at what she once thought to be a gift for her yet now knew it had nothing to do with her and everything to do with Elizabeth Webber - calamity waitress - girlfriend of Sonny's enforcer. The list of names Faith could attach to the petite brunette was endless however the only one that flashed in her mind like an annoying neon sign was - NUISANCE.  
  
As Faith turned the key in the ignition, she wondered what other remnants of his wife Ric had hidden within the recesses of the home he once shared with her. She dropped the transmission into drive and headed there to find out for herself.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jason pushed passed the steady stream of customers attempting to leave Kelly's nearly knocking one to the ground. He almost turned to apologize but when he caught sight of Elizabeth sitting at the counter crying inconsolably all thoughts of politeness left his head.  
  
"Baby, what's wrong?" Jason asked as he took the stool beside her drawing Elizabeth into his body with his muscular arms. Max fell back allowing the pair to talk privately.  
  
"She has it," Elizabeth said between sobs. "Faith has my red glass."  
  
Jason knew that's what Max had told him over the phone but it still was hard to believe. "Are you sure?"  
  
"You don't think I would know my own gift?" Elizabeth almost sounded insulted as she pulled back to stare at him.  
  
"No, that's not what I meant."  
  
"Then what did you mean?" Elizabeth countered.  
  
Jason chose to ignore the tone in her voice. The last thing he wanted to do was fight with her. "Did she show it to you?"  
  
"Yes.no.it was hanging around her neck."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I know what you are thinking, but it was my red glass Jason. I don't care that it now looked like a necklace. I know it was mine." She had spent countless hours over the last years pulling it out and remembering - wishing she had hopped on his bike and gone with him when he had asked. She knew every intricate detail of that precious gift.  
  
"I believe you."  
  
"Do you? Or do you think I am as nuts as Max does?" Elizabeth turned and pointed to the guard who had taken a post at the entrance to Kelly's.  
  
"Yes, I believe you. And you aren't nuts."  
  
Elizabeth's features softened a bit. "You wouldn't be saying that if you saw me going after Faith. I think Max was going to have a coronary."  
  
Jason was glad to see her smiling. He wiped away the last of the tears that glistened on her cheeks. "I'm sure he was about to. You know going after Faith wasn't the smartest thing you could have done."  
  
"I couldn't help myself Jason. I know she was taunting me and I took the bait but when I saw that pendant swinging from her neck well I saw red - literally."  
  
Jason couldn't help but smile at her. She had a spit fire spirit. He was reminded of the many times she had stood up to Carly over their relationship.  
  
"I want it back, Jason."  
  
"We'll get it back."  
  
"Get what back?" Sonny asked as he approached the pair.  
  
"Sonny," Jason was more than a bit surprised to find him standing before them.  
  
"You tore out so fast I wanted to be sure that Elizabeth was all right."  
  
"I'm fine, thanks Sonny." Elizabeth watched as the two men stood tensely before one another. She wished she knew what was going on between them. Deep down she had an idea. She thought that Ric had to be the root of all the trouble but neither were forthcoming with that information. "Want a cup of coffee?" she asked him reaching for the steaming pot across the counter.  
  
Jason saw her wince as she lifted up the full pot. It was obvious that her wrist wasn't as strong as she thought. "Here let me get that." He offered taking the karaft from her.  
  
"Thanks," Sonny said as Jason filled the cup Elizabeth had put in front of him. He looked on as his enforcer spoke softly in his girlfriend's ear. This was a side of Jason he hadn't seen since those early years with Michael. He wanted him to be happy. He wanted him to have a life of his own. A life that had nothing to do with the Corinthos family or the business. Sonny knew that Jason deserved the happiness he had finally achieved with Elizabeth. He hated that that was in jeopardy. "So, what are you trying to get back?" Sonny asked as he took a sip of his coffee.  
  
"Nothing," Jason said quickly. Elizabeth gave him a quizzical look. The one thing she had come to understand was that Jason and Sonny shared everything. That had been one of the reasons she had left in the first place. She couldn't help but feeling as though she would always be playing second fiddle to that relationship. Jason was now putting her first and she knew she should have been grateful but she didn't want it to be at the expense of Sonny and Jason's friendship either.  
  
"I didn't seem like nothing when I walked in," Sonny offered.  
  
Elizabeth spoke before Jason had the chance to stop her. "Faith has something that belongs to me. Something very special that Jason gave to me years ago."  
  
Jason let out a ragged breath as he looked at Elizabeth. Instantly she reached for his hand as if to offer some silent support.  
  
"Faith?" Sonny arched his brow. "She has something of yours?" Suddenly things were getting more and more complicated. Sonny was finally understanding what an explosive combination his brother and Faith had the potential of becoming.  
  
"Yes. It's a piece of red glass that Jason brought home from Italy. He gave it to me on Valentine's day. The day of the warehouse fire."  
  
"Now are you ready to believe that Faith is the mastermind behind all of this?" Sonny turned his attention toward his friend.  
  
"Not now Sonny." Jason flashed his boss a warning look. He couldn't believe that Sonny would speak so freely with Elizabeth sitting there.  
  
"Faith's the mastermind behind what?" Elizabeth asked both men.  
  
"It's business," Jason said hoping that would be enough to quiet Elizabeth's questions. It wasn't his intention of keeping her in the dark, but he would have preferred to explain after he had a better handle on things. He wasn't completely convinced that Faith was the mastermind behind anything.  
  
"It's more than business. It's personal," Sonny added.  
  
"Jason?" Elizabeth's implored him with her eyes. She didn't want to be shut out again.  
  
"You know Faith has been making trouble for Sonny for awhile now.."  
  
"It's more than that," she interrupted him. "I can see it in your eyes."  
  
"Could we talk about this at home?" Jason questioned her as he looked around the diner.  
  
"Yes," she relented understanding that whatever they were doing to discuss wasn't for the general public.  
  
"There are some things you and I need to discuss further," Sonny said as Jason and Elizabeth stood to make their exit.  
  
"It's going to have to wait."  
  
"Fine, but I want to see you later this evening," Sonny's tone was firm.  
  
Jason just shook his head as he left Sonny to stare at his back.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Faith threw open the door of the Lansing home almost wishing that Ric had been there. The drive from Kelly's to the other side of town had fueled her rage even more. She despised being played for the fool and if it was the last thing she did she would show Ric Lansing she was nobody's fool!  
  
With whirlwind speed Faith searched all the areas of the house looking for any signs of Elizabeth Webber hiding in the cracks. She opened the bookcase alongside the fireplace and pushed the button that allowed the hidden panel to slide open and expose the panic room. She stepped inside and found canvases lining the wall. All of them had E.W. penned in the lower right corner. It was almost as though it was some shire to a dead artist. 'Well it just might be,' Faith thought to herself as she ran her hands along each painting before ripping them from the walls with brute force letting them fall to the floor with a loud crash. She ground her heel into canvas after canvas until they all were merely shreds. With a satisfied smile tracing her lips Faith continued her quest.  
  
Faith made her way through various rooms of the house finally stopping at Ric's bedroom. The room he and she had shared phenomenal sex. She would no longer mistake the act they performed as making love. She knew better now. Ric for all of his protests still loved his mealy mouthed wife. That thought sent her blood to a boil in her veins.  
  
Faith tore the comforter and sheets from the bed wondering if Elizabeth and Ric had made love on those very sheets. Sheets that she herself had soiled with him. She clenched her jaw and suppressed a scream that threatened escape as she balled up the silken material and threw it to the floor.  
  
Her next stop was Ric's double door closet. With sheer force Faith threw open the doors and began tossing suits and dress shirts to the floor revealing a large box tucked in the back corner. She lifted the lid and let out an enraged grumble. Before her were Elizabeth's things, a pink baby doll nightie, pictures of the petite waitress, bottles of cologne that obviously belonged to Elizabeth, even her hairbrush was packed away in that box. Faith laughed uncontrollably almost cackled even as the reality of just how badly Ric had been playing all along hit her with brute strength.  
  
Suddenly she heard the front door of the house slam shut. Ric was home. Faith squared her shoulders as a plan formed in her head. Two could play this game she thought. Deliberately she pushed the box Ric had so artfully hidden, threw his clothes back in the closet and closed the door and quickly exited the room.  
  
As she descended the stairs she watched Ric pouring himself a glass of scotch. She quietly walked up behind him placing her hands on his shoulders. "Why so tense?" she purred in his ear.  
  
"Tough client," he replied not lying to her completely. Handing over the signed divorce papers to Elizabeth had been the toughest thing he had ever done.  
  
"Poor baby," she murmured. "Here let me help." Faith began to gently knead his tense muscles with her fingers. "Sorry you had such a bad day."  
  
"I don't want to talk about my day." He turned and offered her a deep kiss. "What did you do for fun?" he asked leading her to the sofa.  
  
Faith's eyes gave a little twinkle as she recalled her day and the revelations she had uncovered, yet she kept all to herself. "It would seem that we aren't the only ones targeting Sonny and Jason."  
  
"How so?" Faith had Ric's full attention with her last comment.  
  
"They burned an entire shipment today. Apparently it was contaminated."  
  
"How do you know all of this?"  
  
"I have my sources." She smiled sheepishly running her manicured fingernail across his cheek.  
  
"Any idea of who's responsible?"  
  
"I'm working on that. But as I see it this all works for us. The more people going after Sonny and Jason the better our chance at them is without getting caught."  
  
"You're probably right," Ric took another long sip of his drink. He couldn't help worry about Elizabeth given this latest peace of news that Faith given him. The last thing he wanted was for her to end up getting caught in the crossfire of a Mob war. She'd already been through too much as it was.  
  
Ric looked down and saw the necklace that he had given her days before. "What happened?" he asked as he picked it up and saw the broken chain.  
  
"It got caught on something when I was bending over. I didn't realize it and when I stood up the chain just broke." Faith lied flawlessly even though the entire time she spoke the scene she had with Elizabeth Webber replayed in her mind like a video being played over and over again.  
  
"I'm sorry about that. I will have it fixed for you.."  
  
"Tomorrow," Faith interrupted him as he was about to make his way from the sofa. "I have a better idea how we can spend the evening." Faith straddled his lap as she began kissing his neck. She felt him let out an exhilarated sigh as her tongue darted around his earlobe. She purred seductively finally she felt as though she were in control again and now that she was things were going to be quite different. It was about time that Ric understood he couldn't have his cake and eat it too.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Elizabeth watched as Jason stared out the window that over looked the harbor. He hadn't said much on the drive from Kelly's to home. She walked up behind him letting her arms circle his waist. "Are you okay?" she asked softly laying her cheek against his back.  
  
"No."  
  
"What's going on Jason?"  
  
"Honestly, I don't know." He hated saying that to her but it was the truth. Everything was so jumbled that nothing made much sense to him. This wasn't like when Sorel wanted Sonny's territory. That had been simple to handle. The enemy was clear but now - well Jason didn't know what to believe. He only knew what his gut told him and it was screaming Ric Lansing.  
  
"What does Faith have to do with all of this and how do you think she got my red glass?"  
  
"Ric." Jason's reply was simple.  
  
"You think Ric gave it to her?"  
  
"Do you have any other explanation?"  
  
"I guess not. I just don't get it. Why would Ric give it to her or take it for that matter?"  
  
"Because it mattered to you," Jason stated matter of fact.  
  
"But that's just it he didn't even know that I had it. I never showed it to him. And if what you're saying is true why didn't he take the post card as well? It means something to me too."  
  
Jason turned and stared at her without an answer to her question. Again none of this made any sense. There was no rhyme or reason for Ric's actions or his train of thought.  
  
"Jason, Ric gave me my signed divorce papers this afternoon at the hospital.."  
  
"He approached you? Where the hell was Max?" Jason cut her off.  
  
"It's okay," she said caressing his face. "Max was right there. He even opened the envelope to make sure they were what Ric said they were."  
  
"Good," Jason let out a relieved sigh.  
  
"So do you think that maybe Ric isn't behind all of this? I mean I know he put the stuff back in my studio. It had to be him. And hell maybe he did even give my red glass to Faith, but the other stuff - the motorcycle accident, and the stuff at the warehouse couldn't it have been Faith?"  
  
"Yes. That's what Sonny thinks, anyway."  
  
"And you don't?"  
  
"Yes and no. I know that Faith would love to bring Sonny down and that includes me as well but something about all of this isn't right. Everything that's been happening is so not Faith's style."  
  
"Maybe she's decided to take a different approach," Elizabeth said even though she sounded unsure herself.  
  
"Well I think it's time that I found out," Jason said grabbing his leather jacket from the sofa.  
  
"Where are you going?" she asked rushing to his side.  
  
"To get some answers and your red glass."  
  
"Jason," Elizabeth grabbed him by the arm to stop him. "Be careful."  
  
"I love you." He leaned in and kissed her softly on the mouth. "I'll see you later."  
  
Elizabeth leaned against the door and let out a heavy sigh as worry and fear engulfed her. 


	29. Intended Target

Second Chances: Intended Target  
  
The sun peeked its sleepy head from behind the rolling hills as Jason watched. Its dull yellow and orange color mixed with the early morning dew that hung heavy in the air illuminating the sky with a muted array of hues. He looked down at his cell phone and saw the flashing indicator telling him that he had messages. Undoubtedly several of them were from Sonny. Jason knew that he wanted to talk with him the night before but he had chosen to ignore the request. He hadn't wanted to rehash the same worn dialogue they had been exchanging for weeks now. It was exhausting.  
  
He shoved his phone deep into his pocket and brought his attention back to the Lansing house. It was hard not to recall the harsh words that he and Elizabeth had bandied between each other standing in that very living room. Jason tried desperately not to think about all of the horrible things, acts that had nearly cost Elizabeth her life that Ric had perpetrated against the woman he claimed – and still did – to love.  
  
Jason watched as several lights clicked on in the rooms of the house softly illuminating them giving him the ability to see shadows. The gray figure Jason knew to be Ric's walked past the window with a smaller shadow he assumed to be Faith Roscoe following close behind. What an unholy alliance the two of them were he thought. Both were sinister and conceiving but Ric possessed far more finesse. Jason understood that's why Sonny was so focused on Faith being the one responsible for all their troubles. It reeked of her haphazard plans. She was never one to look past the instant gratification she wanted to see the bigger picture. That's why Jason had always been able to foil her plans. No one was as loyal to her as she would have liked to believe. But teaming the two, her and Ric, that was a dangerous combination. Ric had the ability to calculate his every move and the Harvard education to make him cunning. Faith was good because of her sheer explosive nature but Ric would keep her grounded enough for the long haul.  
  
Jason let out a heavy breath as he ran his hand over his face. His mind was drawn to Elizabeth. He knew that she was most definitely pacing the floors of his penthouse as he sat there waiting to make his move. He hated doing that to her. He hated making her worry about him. When they had faked Sonny's death all those months before, she waited patiently for him and would rush into his arms when he would finally come home. She tried so hard to help him through his friend's "death". She was so supportive, caring, loving that Jason would have given his right arm to have been able to explain things to her right then. To tell her that Sonny was alive and all of it had been a ruse to smoke out Luis Alcazar, but Sonny would have none of that.  
  
Jason could have kicked himself still for going along with Sonny's order to keep Elizabeth in the dark. There had been no doubt in his mind that he could have trusted her. He had trusted her with his life countless times and not once had she ever let him down. She had turned her world upside down for him more times than he could count. He knew that it was time for him to finally do the same. This time he wouldn't be obediently following Sonny's orders about Ric Lansing. While he didn't intend to be outright insubordinate he certainly didn't feel that the man who had brought so much havoc to the lives of the people he loved most was off limits and it was time that Lansing came to understand that.  
  


* * *

  
Ric felt Faith's fingers trace the muscles in his chest as she came up behind him. Delicately she entangled her digits through the dark tufts of hair covering his torso grazing her fingertips against his erect nipples. A shiver trailed down his spine from that subtle touch. It didn't go unnoticed by the sender.  
  
"Happy lover?" Faith whispered. She was playing her part beautifully. There wasn't a hint of her anger or the scheme that was so well articulated in her mind coming through in her actions. For all Ric knew she was oblivious to it all. That's exactly what she wanted. "What about this?" she asked slipping her hands easily between the waistband of his dark silk boxers. Ric moaned softly as her hands made contact with his throbbing male form. "I'll take that as a yes," she purred as she slipped the boxers passed his hips leaving them in a puddle on the plush carpet. All he was able to do was nod his head for an answer as Faith continued her assault on him. She raised her leg high around his hip letting her own heat reach him.  
  
Overcome with pure animal desire Ric lifted her completely against him as she swallowed his manhood with her feminine wiles. Faith enjoyed watching his reaction to her deliberate moves. He was a powerful man in and out of bed and it was going to give her great satisfaction to bring him down a few pegs. She was almost tempted to leave him wanting but admittedly she had worked herself into a frenzy and needed release of her own.  
  
They lay on the bed both breathing heavy staring at the ceiling. Ric closed his eyes and squashed the thoughts of Elizabeth that picked at him. What was he doing? Was selling his soul to the devil the way to get her back? As he thought that the images of all the times he had seen her in the arms of Jason Morgan raided his brain. How they held one another, how they looked at each other so longingly and sudden his dance with the devil he knew it to be a necessary evil. And it was time he continued playing his part. In the end everything would be worth it to have Elizabeth in his arms again.  
  
"I'm going to grab a shower then I'll take your necklace to the jewelers to be repaired. Would you like to come with me? We could have a nice breakfast at the PC Grille," he said as he swung his naked form to the edge of the bed.  
  
"I actually have a meeting this morning," she said coyly. "Maybe lunch though."  
  
"Meeting?" he said trying not to sound suspicious. "More information as to putting our plan into motion?"  
  
"You could say that." She smiled.  
"Lunch it is then." He returned her smile. The sooner they removed Sonny and Jason the sooner that Elizabeth would be ripe for the picking.  
  
Faith watched as he retreated to the master bathroom. She waited for the door to close and the sound of the water pounding against the shower walls before she moved to where her phone sat on the night table. Tightening her satin robe around her body she listened as the call rang through. "Is everything set?" she asked the voice on the other end. "Just make it a near miss. It's time that people understood just who they are dealing with." Faith said as she looked back at the closed bathroom door.  
  


* * *

  
Ric picked up his keys from the table adjacent to the door and placed the necklace he had given to Faith in his pocket. He was almost tempted to tell her that the piece of jewelry couldn't be mended. He should have never fabricated the tale that it had been a surprise for her. It was bad enough she was acting like the woman of the house, that right was solely Elizabeth's but now she had taken possession of something that had been his wife's. Maybe he was over reacting. Perhaps the blood red glass was merely a trinket that had been long forgotten, but something in his gut told him otherwise.  
  
Ric pulled the heavy wooden door closed behind him and took a few steps closer to where his car sat waiting in the driveway. Without warning his nose and mouth were captured in a thick white cloth. His nostrils suddenly filled with a sweet odor leaving him woozy as his surroundings went black.  
  
Easily Jason hoisted Ric over his shoulder and deposited him in the cargo area of his black SUV. He stared at him coldly as he watched Ric lying there lifeless. What a perfect picture Jason thought to himself. This is the way it should have been. It hadn't had to have gotten as far as it had. If Sonny would have just allowed Ric to be handled the second it came out that he allowed Carly to believe they had slept together none of the heinous things that had happened to his friends would have taken place. Jason just shook his head as he lowered the tailgate leaving Ric to sleep off the effects of the ether.  
  
Ric's head felt heavy as he tried to lift it. His vision was blurry and he squinted his eyes forcing them to focus. His mind was engulfed in a thick haze. "Where the hell am I?" he said hoarsely. It was then he realized that his hands and legs were tied to hard wooden chair. Panic seized him as he began to thrash around wildly.  
  
"Keep it up and those nylon ropes will cut your wrists. It will save me the trouble of killing you, but it won't be nearly as fun," Jason said as he step from the shadows to reveal himself to Ric.  
  
Ric's mouth went dry as if he had swallowed mouthful of cotton. Jason's ice blue eyes bore holes in his flesh. The look of sheer determination on the enforcer's face made Ric quiver. Now that his eyes had adjusted to the dimly lit room he looked around surveying his surroundings trying desperately to figure out where he was. This wasn't the same safe house he had been taken to as before. He was sure that Sonny had many of them in his possession though. "What do you want?!?" Ric tried to sound much bolder than he felt. Suddenly he saw Jason's gun perched on the table across the room and he watched as Jason pulled a roll of weighty plastic from the closet. He swallowed hard around the apple sized lump that had come to sit in his throat.  
  
Jason enjoyed the sheer fear that had taken hold of his captive. It wasn't nearly all that he deserved for the horror and panic he had put both Carly and Elizabeth through but for Jason it was a start. Without a word Jason deliberately rolled the plastic out onto the birch floor. The last thing he wanted was there to be any remnants of what he was about to do. Not the that Quartermaines used this cabin retreat much anymore but he couldn't take the risk. He had chosen the out of the way cabin rather than one of Sonny's many safehouses. He couldn't chance what he was about to do would get back to his boss. Max was the only one who knew what was going on and Jason was certain of the man's loyalty.  
  
"Where are we?" Ric pressed knowing full well that he wasn't about to get any answers from Jason Morgan who had a penchant for silence when it served him. "I know this isn't one of Sonny's safe houses," he lied hoping to get any indication of where he was.  
  
"No it's not."  
  
"Where the hell am I?" Ric's voice grew louder in the hope that someone, anyone might hear him. He knew he was grasping at straws but hysteria was setting in as Jason pulled the chair he was sitting in into the middle of the plastic sheeting. "Sonny's going to have your head. I'm his brother you can't kill me!" Ric wanted to sound smug but it only came out like the whining of a small child.  
  
"What Sonny doesn't know won't hurt him."  
  
Ric felt his chest tighten. Jason was working alone. There were no orders from Sonny for this little abduction. He again began to thrash wildly within his constraints imagining the torture that was in store for him.  
  
Jason picked up his pistol from the table and trained it on Ric, making him stare directly into the barrel. He watched as beads of sweat began to form on the man's brow. "So what's it feel like to be a prisoner?" Ric tried to look away but using the butt end of the gun Jason forced his head back into position.  
  
"What the hell do you want?"  
  
"Funny and here everyone thinks I'm the brain damaged one." Jason smirked.  
  
Ric again struggled as the ropes cut deeper into his flesh. "You think killing me is your way of keeping Elizabeth?" Jason's jaw grew taught as her name escaped Ric's lips. "She's going to hate you. She's going to know exactly what you are – a KILLER!"  
  
"What makes you think Elizabeth doesn't know what I am doing?"  
  
That remark silenced Ric momentarily. He couldn't believe that Elizabeth would sanction such and event. "Elizabeth would never stand by and let you kill me!"  
  
"You don't think so?"  
  
"NO!" Ric said so completely sure of himself.  
  
"Well think again." Jason thought back to a not so long ago conversation he and Elizabeth had about Ric....  
  
"I promise you Ric will NEVER hurt you again"  
  
"You don't know how much I want to believe that Jason."  
  
"But you don't do you? You don't think he's ever going to be out of  
your life? He will Elizabeth. I swear to you he will. If it's the  
last thing I do, he'll be out of your life once and for all."  
  
"I'm not going to ask you about him. I don't want to know Jason."  
  
"What does that mean?"  
  
"It means I don't want to know what happens to Ric -- or your involvement in it. This is one time that I don't mind being kept out of your 'business'."  
  
Ric sat wide eyed starring intently at his captor unable to fathom that a woman like Elizabeth would have any part in what the man before him was about to do. She had dropped him for lesser offenses so in his mind Ric knew that Elizabeth, his Elizabeth would NEVER be part of this. "You're fooling yourself Morgan! Elizabeth will hate you for this. She'll never – NEVER forgive you for killing me."  
  
"She'll thank me!" Jason almost laughed as he rested the barrel end of his gun between Ric's eyes.  
  


* * *

  
Elizabeth wrapped her yellow afghan tightly around her shoulders as she looked out over the docks and harbor. The sun was playfully making its ascent into the morning sky. If it had been some other morning she might have enjoyed watching the colors come to life but not today. This morning she was too focused on Jason. The feeling of dread that had consumed her since he had left the penthouse the night before had grown as the night wore into morning. She swore she had worn a groove in the hardwood floor from her endless pacing.  
  
"Where are you going?"  
  
"To get some answers and your red glass."  
  
She had replayed those two simple sentences over and over again in her head. She tried not to let her fears get the better of her but that was far from easy. It wasn't the idea of what Jason might do that frightened her but it was more of what could possibly happen to him in the process.  
  
She wasn't able to rid herself of those long ago images of finding him lying bleeding in the snow. They plagued her. She knew how close he had come to dying that night and in those first several days at her studio. She couldn't let herself think of that but it was difficult no to.  
  
Elizabeth walked over to the desk and picked up the receiver for the hundredth time. She even dialed Jason's cell this time but quickly hung up. She needed to prove to Jason that she did trust him. And really for her it wasn't a matter of trusting him. It was a matter of her fearing he was again laying somewhere with a bullet through his body. She shook her head trying to rid herself of that likeness.  
  
Forcefully she opened the door nearly sending Max tumbling inside. "Oh I'm sorry," she said startled to find him so close to the door. "Are you all right?"  
  
"I could ask you the same thing," Max returned seeing the worry etched across her features.  
  
"Do you know where Jason is?" Before Max was able to even open his mouth to answer she continued. "Of course you know. You always know."  
  
"Elizabeth," Max reached for her hand and felt it shaking. "I...."  
  
"You can't tell me." She finished his sentence for him. She closed her eyes and pushed back the tears that stung her brilliant cobalt eyes. "Well then maybe Sonny can!"  
  
Elizabeth strode across the hallway and knocked heavily on the door. Johnny looked at Max who just shrugged his shoulders unsure of how to handle this. Part of him knew that Jason wouldn't want Sonny involved but he hadn't heard from the enforcer all night and he too was getting worried.  
  
"Where's Jason?" Elizabeth asked as Sonny came out of the kitchen carrying a pitcher of orange juice.  
  
"I could ask you the same question." Sonny was completely unfazed by her sudden presence. "He was supposed to meet with me last night and never showed."  
  
"Damn." The single syllable word escaped her lips.  
  
"Is something wrong?" Sonny asked sensing her apprehension.  
  
"I don't know. Jason left last night and he's never come home. I was hoping that maybe he ended up having business for you that needed taken care of." Elizabeth dropped down into the soft velour arm chair and let out a heavy sigh.  
  
"Sonny, breakfast smells great....." Carly began as she descended the stairs stopping cold at the sight of Elizabeth. "What the hell are you doing here?" This was the first time the two women had seen one another in weeks.  
  
"Listen, I'm sorry I bothered you. I'll handle this myself." Elizabeth got up to leave. In her state of mind she wasn't up for another round with Carly.  
  
"What's going on?" Carly questioned looking from her husband and Elizabeth. Immediately she sensed that it had to do with something about Jason since Carly was sure that would be the only reason for Elizabeth's being there. "What happened to Jason?"  
  
"Nothing," Elizabeth said too quickly for Carly's liking. "I'm just over reacting like I always do, Carly." Elizabeth said pointed to the blonde standing across the room who wasn't buying a word of it.  
  
Carly moved deeper into the room and as she did that there was an unmistakable look of fear buried in the young brunette's eyes. Elizabeth skittishly moved about the room only heightening Carly's own fear. Her gut was screaming something was wrong. "Elizabeth," she spoke softly.  
  
"Don't worry Carly I won't be staying. Thank you Sonny." Elizabeth turned to leave.  
  
"Wait," Carly said as Elizabeth reached for the door. Carly had no idea what possessed her to suddenly care about Miss Muffin's well being but for one reason or another she couldn't rid herself of the visions of how much Jason loved the younger woman. "Are you okay?"  
  
Sonny turned to stare at his wife wide eyed. He couldn't believe civil much less words of concern escaped her lips in terms of Elizabeth Webber.  
  
"There's no need to pretend you give a damn. Jason isn't around to see you making nice," Elizabeth said sarcastically. "If you hear from Jason before I do, would you let me know?" She turned her attention back toward Sonny.  
  
"I will."  
  
Elizabeth closed the door behind her as the couple inside the room began their own conversation. She had far more to be concerned with than the Corinthos'.  
  
"Elizabeth?" Max said as she approached him. "Is everything all right?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Is there something I can do?"  
  
"Take me to Jason. I know you know where he is. I have to know that he's okay."  
  
"You know I can't do that. Jason wants you to be safe...."  
  
"So what if he's not right?" she cried choking on her own tears. "I know he went after Ric, Max. I know it. I couldn't live with myself if....."  
  
"Nothing is going to happen to Jason."  
  
"You don't know that. He's been shot before," Elizabeth's voice caught in her throat. Her lips began to quiver as an unstoppable wave of tears cascaded onto her cheeks.  
  
"Where are you going?" Max asked as he watched her franticly push the elevator buttons.  
  
"I can't just sit in the penthouse and wait for him. I'll go crazy waiting. I have to do something. I have to find him." Elizabeth rambled infamously.  
  
"Whoa....you can't just run off." Max reached for her arm as the doors of the elevator slid open.  
  
"With or without you I am going, Max!" Elizabeth countered.  
  
"Then it will be with me." Max stepped into the elevator knowing that Jason would have his hid yet leaving Elizabeth roaming the streets of Port Charles alone wasn't an option either.  
  
"Wait here," he instructed when they reached the lobby of the Harborview Towers. "I'll have Paulie bring around the car."  
  
Elizabeth fidgeted as she watched for the black sedan to approach the curb. As soon as the car came into view she shot from her perch and was nearly to Max's side when the sound of bullets screamed through the air passed her ears. Before she knew what was happening Max tackled her entirely covering her body with his own. It seemed like an eternity before Max removed himself.  
  
"You okay?" he asked raising her tiny body to its feet.  
  
"I think so," she returned with a shaky voice.  
  
"We need to get you inside right now!" Max ushered her towards the glass panel doors.  
  
"Wait," she instructed. "The driver." Elizabeth pointed to where Paulie lay in a pool of blood on the sidewalk.  
  
"Shit!" Max pulled out his phone and dialed as Elizabeth went to where one of Sonny's men lay. All she could think of was Jason laying bleeding in the snow.  
  


* * *

  
"Morgan," Jason said never taking his eyes off of Ric.  
  
"Jason there's been a drive by," Max's tone was quick and to the point.  
  
"What? Oh my God – Elizabeth?"  
  
Ric forced his swollen eyes to open at the sound of his wife's name. There was no mistaking the change in the enforcer's demeanor. Ric knew something was wrong.  
  
"She's fine boss, but she needs you."  
  
"I'm on my way."  
  
Jason caught himself frozen unable to remove himself from the spot where he stood. His gaze was riveted on Ric Lansing. How the hell could this be happening? Ric had been with him the entire time and still an attempt had been made against Elizabeth. Quickly he shoved his gun in the back of his waistband. He didn't have the time to contemplate the order of events. He needed to get to Elizabeth.  
  
"What happened? Is Elizabeth all right?" Ric finally asked as Jason approached the door only momentarily looking back at him. "Is she hurt? You aren't going to leave me here are you? YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME HERE!!!" Ric screamed as the door slammed. 


	30. Confusion

Second Chances: Confusion  
  
Jason knew he needed to get to Elizabeth but he found himself unable to tear his stare away from the cabin where Ric Lansing sat inside. Max's words "drive by" played over and over again in his head like a skipping record. No matter how hard he tried Jason just couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that the shooting happened while he had been holding Ric at gunpoint. How the hell could that be? Suddenly everything that had happened up until that point was suspect for him. It wasn't that he couldn't concede that Ric could have hired someone to handle the shooting for him but as much as he despised Lansing Jason did know he wouldn't have purposely made Elizabeth a target. The image of Faith Roscoe popped into his head. She on the other hand was capable of nearly anything.  
  
Jason thought about Elizabeth's red glass. He knew that the blonde wanna be Mob boss was well aware that it belonged to Elizabeth whether she would have admitted it or not. Jason's gut told him that that was something she wouldn't have taken lightly. Faith Roscoe was fueled by revenge of any kind. As much as Jason hated to admit it, but it just might be time to make a little concession to Sonny about Faith and finally figure out a way to work together. For Elizabeth's safety he would do anything.  
  
He glanced back at the cabin. He would cut Lansing loose when and if he could get a handle on just who was responsible for the shooting. If it somehow pointed back to Ric then Jason would come back and finish the job he had started. With that thought he turned the key in the ignition and the V-8 engine roared to life. As he pulled onto the dirt road his only thoughts now were of Elizabeth and making sure she was all right.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Elizabeth knelt down beside the man she knew only by name, Paulie. Sonny had an army of guards and she was familiar with mainly Max, Marco, Johnny and Francis, but that didn't make this new man's life any less important.  
  
She watched as the bright red blood poured from his wound and puddled on the cement sidewalk. He was unconscious but Elizabeth found herself holding his hand talking softly to him. She told him to hold on. She imagined he had someone he loved and expected him home at the end of the day. The scene before her threw her back in time to one snowy morning – the morning she found Jason bleeding by the boxcar. Elizabeth's breath hitched in her throat as she was bombarded by those memories. She thought how close she had come that day to losing him, how stubborn he was about her not being involved, how he was more worried about her than himself. All of those emotions rushed her with such force. A single tear slid down her cheek as tried not to worry and wonder about Jason.  
  
"Max," she called out finally. "He barely has a pulse," she said as she laid her fingers on the side of the man's neck.  
  
"We should get you inside," Max responded as he surveyed the surroundings half-wondering if whoever was responsible would be back to finish the job they started.  
  
"I'm not going anywhere!" she announced as Max attempted to usher her toward the building. There was a part of her that couldn't leave. For Elizabeth this all felt too surreal she needed to stay. "Did you call an ambulance?" she asked.  
  
"The Doc is on his way."  
  
Elizabeth remembered Sonny saying something similar all those years ago to Jason. That he had men to take care of him. "What if he bleeds to death first?" Elizabeth said logically. "Besides you don't think someone called the police by now?" Elizabeth looked around as the crowd began to gather around them. "Call for a damn ambulance Max!"  
  
Max pulled out his cell phone again and did as Elizabeth asked – no instructed. She was right before long the PCPD would be there asking questions and it would have looked odd for none of them to have called for medical attention for Paulie.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sonny and Carly sat opposite each other at the large glass dining table neither saying anything. Both of them were lost in their own thoughts about Jason and Elizabeth's visit that morning.  
  
Sonny didn't like how frightened she looked when she entered his penthouse or how her face dropped when he had said he hadn't seen Jason since yesterday. Things were getting so out of control. He didn't like what his men had been reporting back to him daily. He knew it was time to take action but he kept hoping that given the circumstances he would get the outcome he wanted without ever having to take responsibility for the action. He looked across the table at his wife who had barely touched her plate. "More juice?" he asked offering the pitcher of orange liquid to her.  
  
"No."  
  
"You really need to eat something."  
  
She disregarded his vain attempt at ignoring the white elephant in the room. "Please, please don't pretend with me, not after everything that we have been through these past few months. What's really going on?" Carly's eyes pleaded with him.  
  
"Nothing. Nothing's going on."  
  
"Sonny, come on, something is going on. What happened to Jason?"  
  
"I don't know," Sonny answered her honestly.  
  
"What do you mean you don't know?" Carly's tone filled with panic.  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"Sonny....."  
  
"Carly, I don't know!" He raised his voice a notch as frustration got the better of him.  
  
"Why was Elizabeth here? Something had to have happened to him. It was obvious she's worried about him."  
  
"And why would you care if she's worried? You can't stand the girl. You've made it perfectly clear how you feel about her."  
  
"Jason loves her," Carly said softly.  
  
Sonny was stunned by his wife's revelation. He knew it had taken a great deal for Carly to say those words out loud. "Yes he does." Sonny confirmed.  
  
"Are you upset that they are finally together?" Carly asked.  
  
"Me?" Sonny stared at her almost flabbergasted. "Am I upset that they are together? Isn't that a question I should be asking you?"  
  
"If you are fine with it, then what's going on with you and Jason?"  
  
Sonny could do little to hide his surprise at Carly's even tone when she spoke of Jason's relationship with Elizabeth Webber. It had been Jason's friendship with the young waitress all those years ago that Sonny had used to twist the knife in Carly's back. It's what had gotten them together in the first place. And through the years she made it perfectly clear the place she thought Elizabeth deserved in Jason's life – NONE. He couldn't suss out what had suddenly changed for his wife and decided against trying to figure it out. "It's business," he said finally.  
  
"I doubt that. There's something more to it. It's about Ric isn't it?" Carly hated saying that man's name but she knew that he was the root of the troubles between her husband and their best friend.  
  
"It's business Carly. You know I can't discuss that with you." Sonny pushed his chair away from the table so he wasn't forced to look into his wife's eyes.  
  
"Sonny," Carly wrapped her arms around him from behind letting her swollen belly rest against his back. "Please don't shut me out." She rested her chin on his shoulder. "I love you. I love Jason and I hate seeing the two of you at odds. I'm not blind and certainly not stupid. This is all about Ric. It's been about Ric long before Jason hooked up with Elizabeth again. That only complicates things."  
  
"I'm handling it."  
  
"Are you? You and Jason can barely be in the same room anymore. That doesn't look like you are handling it to me."  
  
"I'm the boss. I'm in charge!" Sonny's need for control came through in an arrogant tone.  
  
"Jason's not just some lacky, Sonny. He's your friend. He's saved your life and mine dozens of times. He deserves better than your disrespect."  
  
Sonny turned to face his wife disbelief written across his features. "I respect Jason."  
  
"Do you? Do you really respect him? Or does he only get that when he's agreeing with you?" Carly felt she had held her tongue long enough.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Sonny couldn't believe what he was hearing.  
  
"You know exactly what I am talking about. Jason feels one way about Ric and you feel another......" Before Carly could finish her thought the sound of sirens from below filled the air. Moving toward the terrace she opened the French doors and walked out. As she looked down she saw the street filled with cop cars and an ambulance. Then the sight of Elizabeth came into view. "Sonny...Sonny!" she called franticly. "SONNY!!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Look!" He did as she said and saw the chaos below. "That's Max and Elizabeth!"  
  
"I know." In a flash Sonny made his way from the penthouse with Carly at his heels.  
  
Sonny and Carly snaked their way through the crowd finally making it to where Max and Elizabeth stood. "Max?" Sonny questioned the guard as Carly went to Elizabeth.  
  
"Are you hurt?" she asked the younger woman.  
  
"What?" For the second time that day Carly's caring demeanor stunned Elizabeth.  
  
"I said are you hurt?"  
  
"Is that what you were hoping for?" Elizabeth retorted. Quickly rethinking her position toward Carly when she saw the blonde look at her wide eyed.  
  
Carly just shook her head knowing that given how she had treated Elizabeth over the years her outburst was warranted but didn't stop her from suddenly considering why she even cared. However Carly knew the answer to that – Jason and he was coming their way.  
  
"ELIZABETH!" Jason's voice rose above the noise and confusion around them. The second their matching blue eyes locked relief filled him. The sight of the red whirling ambulance lights sent Jason's heart racing, even though he had known that Elizabeth hadn't been injured it was a comfort to see her standing on the curb unharmed.  
  
The sound of Jason's voice immediately sent her flying into his arms. He was safe and that's all that she cared about. "I was so worried about you," she said breathlessly.  
  
"Worried about me?" He almost laughed. She was the one that had been shot at and her only concern was him. "Are you all right?"  
  
"I'm better now." She grasped him tightly by the waist letting herself get lost in his encompassing embrace.  
  
"What happened?" Jason turned to Max who had just relayed the events to Sonny.  
  
"That's what I want to know." Marcus Taggert approached the group. Jason rolled his eyes, tightened his arms securely around Elizabeth and turned to stare Detective Taggert down in his most famous way. "Any idea who wants you dead now?" Taggert left the question open for either Jason or Sonny to answer. "I can't help if no one can tell me what happened." Taggert scanned the very silent group. Not that he expected anything more than what he was getting. Anyone in the Corinthos' organization knew better than to speak to the police. Taggert's only in and he knew it was Elizabeth Webber. "Miss Webber, please help me out here. Tell me what happened."  
  
"I don't think I can be of much help. I didn't really see anything. Max pushed me to the ground and when I got up all I saw was the driver crumpled on the sidewalk bleeding."  
  
Jason gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. He could imagine the thoughts racing through her mind. Undoubtedly by the trembling of her petite frame she was reliving the day she had found him in a very similar situation. He wanted nothing more than to scoop her up and carry her inside to their penthouse.  
  
Marcus Taggert felt his blood begin to boil. He had long since lost his patience with the people that found the need to protect the mobsters of Port Charles. "You didn't see anything?" he pressed her.  
  
"I'm sorry no."  
  
"Nothing at all?"  
  
"She said no!" Jason was ready to put a stop to the detective's badgering.  
  
Letting his anger get the better of him Taggert spoke again. "Why are you protecting them? You are setting yourself up to get killed. Is that what you want? Hasn't a bomb in your studio, a kidnapping and being shot once already been enough for you? What's it going to take for you to see that your association with Morgan is going to get you killed?" Jason felt his jaw tighten and his muscles tense as Taggert continued you with his barrage. "I thought you were smarter than this Elizabeth."  
  
"Are we done Detective Taggert?" Elizabeth asked in an even tone. "I am sorry that I can't give you any further information, but as I said I didn't see anything but the pavement."  
  
Marcus Taggert threw his hands up in defeat and left the group without another word.  
  
"You okay?" Jason asked Elizabeth softly.  
  
"She's better than okay. She handled Taggert great!" Carly offered a compliment. "He's such a prick."  
  
Jason did a double take at Carly's remark about Elizabeth, which his friend returned with a weak smile. She was a long way from making amends to him but she wasn't above trying. "Are you okay?" he asked Elizabeth again.  
  
"I'm fine. I just want to go upstairs."  
  
"You go," Sonny turned to Jason. "I'll make sure that someone rides with Paulie to the hospital."  
  
Jason nodded and took Elizabeth by the hand leading inside the building.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Once inside the penthouse he had an incredible urge to never let her out of his sight again. In the past several months she had grown to mean more to him than he ever thought another person could. The idea of losing her was unfathomable for him.  
  
"Are you sure you are okay? Maybe I should call Monica or take you to GH to be checked out."  
  
"Jason, I'm fine really....."  
  
"But what if Max's knocking you to the ground reinjured your shoulder or even your wrist?" Jason knew he sounded over protective but he could have cared less.  
  
"See, look I'm fine." She rolled her shoulders and her wrist without pain. "Really there's no need to bother Monica." Elizabeth smiled and reached for the phone in his hand. "You once said you'd take me over a doctor anyday. Well that's how I feel about you. All I need is you," she said seductively.  
  
She wasn't sure if it was the events of the day or how worried she had been for him the night before that brought on this sudden need to be with him physically but she had it just the same. Elizabeth gently lifted his black tee shirt from the waistband of his jeans to reveal his rippling abs. Easily she traced the six pack and watched as Jason's eyes fell closed at her touch.  
  
"I love you Jason Morgan," she said softly.  
  
"I love you too," he whispered in returned as he allowed his body to respond to her gentle caress.  
  
Jason let Elizabeth lead him over to the leather sofa. He watched each of her deliberate movements as she lifted his shirt over his head dropping it to the ground in a black heap. Absently she ran her palms across his chest the friction causing Jason's body to tingle. Elizabeth lowered her lips to his supple skin and her tongue began its own melodic dance finding the way to each of his hardened nipples. A satisfied moan escaped Jason's lips that made Elizabeth smile.  
  
As her mouth continued its assault on his chest Elizabeth's hands had minds of their own. Her fingertips slipped between his jeans and flesh almost instantly she felt his arousal grow as she undid the button that kept him contained.  
  
"E-li-za-be-th," he stuttered when she took hold of his throbbing male form. She watched Jason take a deep breath as she let her fingers massage him to the point that she could feel him crying out for release.  
  
Unable to control his own desire awkwardly his fingers fumbled with the clasps on her tailored button down shirt. She only shook her head telling him she wasn't quite finished with him yet. She was immensely enjoying bringing him pleasure. In a single motion his jeans and boxers found their way to the wooden floor as well. Jason's naked form standing before her quickened Elizabeth's own pulse.  
  
"I love you," she said again as she pushed him down on the sofa. Jason watched as she slowly loosened each button that held her shirt closed. It was the sexiest thing he had ever been witness to. His gaze rested on the creamy flesh of her breasts that peaked out from the top of her lace bra. He could no longer resist the urge to touch her and reached out caressing her nipples through the thin fabric. He grew harder with each stroke.  
  
"Do you know how beautiful you are?" he asked before bringing her mouth crashing down on his own. Their tongues did a lazy duel with one another heightening the titillation between the pair. The sound of heavy pounding on the door startled the lovers. "WHAT?!?" Jason said with a growl more than annoyed at the intrusion.  
  
"Jason," Max's voice permeated through the thick wooden door. "Sonny needs to see you."  
  
"Tell him I'm busy." Jason looked down at Elizabeth as he kissed her again.  
  
"It's about the shooting today. Paulie's awake and he's talking."  
  
Elizabeth moved from Jason's lap and sat beside him. "Maybe you should go. It sounds like it's important."  
  
"You're important," Jason said cupping her chin in his hand.  
  
"I know that." She held back the tears. This was such a difference for them. She finally felt she had a place in Jason's world and he no longer needed to prove that to her.  
  
"I'm not leaving you tonight," he stressed.  
  
"Jason?" Max's voice again filtered into the room.  
  
Jason looked to the door and back to Elizabeth. "I don't want to leave you."  
  
"I don't want you to either," she returned honestly. "But I'll be here waiting for you when you get back. We can pick up right where we left off." Elizabeth smiled seductively as she laid her hand against his still erect male form.  
  
"You promise?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye.  
  
"Jas...man did you hear me? Paulie's awake...."  
  
"I'm coming. Tell Sonny I'll be there in a few." Jason picked up his clothes that were scattered at his feet and began to get dressed again. "I won't be long!" he stressed.  
  
"I'll be waiting." Elizabeth blew him a kiss as the door closed between them.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Ric yanked his arm again and finally the freedom he had been trying to achieve for hours had been attained. Jason hadn't lied about him bleeding to death if he struggled beneath the nylon ropes that affixed him to the chair. He brought his hands in front of him only to see blood dripping from deep gashes all around his wrists. The pain he felt was excruciating but his need to get to Elizabeth, to find out if she was all right was far greater than his own discomfort.  
  
He forced his fingers to untie the restraints holding his legs in place. With each movement he made a trail of blood that followed behind. After much effort on his part Ric was completely free. He made his way to the door and exited his prison. Before him was a dense wooded area and only a single lane dirt road that lead to the cabin where Jason had taken him. Ric scanned the area hoping that something – anything looked remotely familiar. Nothing.  
  
He knew he stood a good chance of dying a slow death if he didn't do something to contain the flow of blood seeping steadily from the open wounds adorning his wrists. He cried out in agony as he ripped two thin strips of fabric from his shirttail and haphazardly tied them around his wrists using his other hand and his teeth. Once his make shift bandages were in place he started down the dirt lane hoping to sooner or later run into a main road.  
  
After what seemed like hours Ric finally made it to the highway. He could feel the beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead. He knew he was going into shock but he had to keep moving. He had to get to Elizabeth even if that meant he died trying. As luck would have it a passing car stopped along side him. As soon as the driver saw the blood soaked bandages he threw the car in park and assisted Ric into the passenger seat. Before Ric could even tell the man thank you his world went dark.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jason closed the door to his penthouse. He had definitely stayed at Sonny's far longer than he had anticipated – and he was upset with himself for that. No matter what they had discovered nothing was worth leaving Elizabeth alone – not after all she had been through.  
  
He threw his keys on the desk and that was when he noticed articles of Elizabeth's clothing leading a trail up the stairs. It was almost as if she had left them there purposely as a way of telling him she was waiting for him to just as she said – pick up where they had left off. Jason smiled sheepishly as he bounded up the stairs leaving the clothes in his wake. Softly he opened the door and smiled. There was the woman he loved laying naked in the middle of their king-sized bed. What a sight to behold. As he drew closer shedding his own clothes in the process he noticed that she was snoring softly. Gently he covered her body with the comforter and crawled in bed alongside of her wrapping his arms securely around her. Elizabeth let out a soft sigh when Jason kissed her on the temple and settled in to join her in slumber. There would be plenty of other nights for them to make love. 


	31. The Squeeze

Second Chances: The Squeeze  
  
Ric opened his eyes and the bright white light from overhead almost made him dizzy. He turned his head from side to side trying to gauge where he was exactly. The events of the day were nothing but a blur yet when he attempted to use his hands to force himself into a sitting position – the stabbing pain that radiated from his wrists brought those forgotten memories back with such clarity.  
  
Jason Morgan was at the forefront with his gun trained on his captive – trained on Ric. He recalled his desperation in trying to get to Elizabeth. The cryptic way Jason had run from the cabin set alarms blaring in Ric's head. Enough so in fact that he had risked bleeding to death just to get to her.  
  
Thoughts of Elizabeth swirled in his mind. Was she hurt? God forbid was she dead? That idea nearly choked him. He couldn't wrap his brain around the thought that she might have been gone. He had to know. He had to know if she was all right. Ignoring his own agony Ric again pushed himself into a sitting position and swung his legs over the side of the narrow bed. That quick movement had the room spinning around him. Once he was finally able to collect his thoughts he surveyed his surroundings. His best guess was he was at some hospital yet he knew it wasn't General Hospital. It was far too small and quiet compared to the busy atmosphere that consumed GH.  
  
Gingerly Ric let his feet rest on the cold tile floor. He steadied himself with his hand unsure if his legs would with stain him. He felt the back of his hospital gown fall open and immediately he scanned the room for his clothes. Just as he was about to make his way to where his jeans and shirt sat in a heap he was interrupted.  
  
"And just where do you think you are going?" a large nurse in a white lab coat asked.  
  
"Home. I need to get home!" Ric said with determination as he headed towards the chair that held his clothes.  
  
"I don't think so," she countered. "You've been out cold for a couple hours. You aren't going anywhere."  
  
"You don't understand – my wife she could be hurt. I have to get to her!" Ric's voice grew in intensity. His need to find Elizabeth causing his mind to race once more.  
  
The nurse could hear the heightened anxiety in her patient's tone and when he mentioned something about needing to get to his wife – that she could be hurt a red flag went up in her mind. Given the man's injuries she couldn't help but wonder if maybe this was more than what it appeared to be at first glance. "You can't go anywhere until we get your wounds stitched," she stated.  
  
Ric looked down at his wrists finally and realized that while the wounds had been bandaged blood was still seeping from beneath the thin white gauze. He leaned against the small hospital bed and let out a heavy breath.  
  
"Sir you lost a lot of blood. I am sure that once the doctor has closed your wounds he will want you to spend the night – just for observation."  
  
"I can't!" Ric nearly shouted. "I can't stay here. I've already wasted too much time. My wife – she could," Ric choked on his next words. "she could be dead! I have to get the hell out of here!" Suddenly his eyes resembled those of a caged animal looking for any means of escape. "I can't wait around here any longer!"  
  
"I'll go see what's keeping Dr. Michaels," the nurse said as she walked out of the room leaving Ric to pace the floor. Immediately the woman headed for the security phone and within minutes an uniformed hospital security officer was stationed outside of Ric's door. Then she placed a call to the local sheriff's office. Normally suicide attempts, and that's what she first thought this was but now was less than sure, required a seventy-two hour hospital stay but with the way the man inside was going on and on about the possibility of his wife being dead – well suddenly that had the nurse thinking perhaps this was a botched murder/suicide and that was completely out of her league.  
  
When the nurse finally reentered Ric's room she found him completely dressed and still pacing the floor. "Where's the doctor? I have to get the hell out of here! I need to get to my wife!"  
  
"Sir you really need to calm yourself. This isn't helping," she said in her best soothing voice.  
  
"No, you're NOT helping!" he yelled pushing his way passed her. "I'm leaving!"  
  
"Sir you can't," she tried to stop him. "You haven't had your wounds looked at yet."  
  
"I'm an attorney. I know my rights. I can sign myself out against medical advice. I want the papers NOW!" Ric's voice boomed.  
  
The older woman suddenly was frightened of the glowering man standing before her. If what she suspected to be true indeed really was there was no telling what he could be capable of. She wasn't about to take any chances so she nodded and walked to the nurse's desk and retrieved the papers in question, watched him sloppily sign his name due to the pain in his wrists and walk out the door.  
  
A few moments later the county sheriff and his deputy entered from another corridor and while the nurse had no suspect to deliver to them between her and the man who had brought the injured man into the emergency room that day they gathered enough information to begin a preliminary investigation.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Faith stood on the docks as fury seethed inside of her. She didn't like being stood up. It was well past lunch and the dinner hour was fast approaching and she hadn't seen hide nor hair of Ric since he left the house that morning. The ringing of her cell phone from inside her tiny black bag interrupted her thoughts. "What?" she barked her annoyance for other things coming through in her voice. "And?" A smile slid across her bright red lips as she listened. "So my message was delivered then? Good!"  
  
Faith shut the phone quickly and dropped it into her black bag again a contented grin filling her features. She was pleased with herself. It was time that a certain someone understood just who he was dealing with. It was time he understood what a force she could be when pushed. On that note she reached for her phone from inside her purse and dialed. "Where the hell are you?" she asked out loud as once again she was put through to Ric Lansing's voice mail.  
  
Faith found herself walking back and forth across the worn planks of the docks her rage growing with each step. Her mind was filled with images of Ric running off to check on his little waif of a wife. Why was it so obvious to the rest of the world that Elizabeth Webber had moved on to Jason Morgan but Ric was so unwilling to see it? Hell she would have been glad to let Jason and Sonny deal with Calamity Jane without giving her a second thought if only Ric could do the same. In the end Elizabeth could be a means to distracting Jason enough to bring about the demise of Sonny and his empire and that's all Faith had ever really wanted – until now. What she wanted now also included Ric Lansing and somehow the circle of men around Elizabeth Webber tightened.  
  
"UGH!" she growled in frustration. She dialed Ric's home number and suddenly was bombarded with the sound of Elizabeth's voice on the answering machine. "Damn him!" she thought. Elizabeth was still everywhere in that house. Knowing he would have to come home eventually Faith headed off in the direction of his home figuring she would wait there for him.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Ric wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. It had taken hours to get back to Port Charles. He was feeling the effects of his injuries again and knew that if he didn't get them stitched up soon he would end up passing out or in shock again. But only thoughts of Elizabeth and her safety were what were driving him at the moment. All else would have to wait. He picked up the receiver and dialed General Hospital.  
  
"GH information desk. How can I help you?"  
  
"Yes, I'd like to check on the status of a patient. Elizabeth Lansing."  
  
"I'm sorry sir we don't have any patients by that name listed."  
  
"Try Elizabeth Webber then."  
  
"Sorry sir, still nothing."  
  
Ric steeled himself for what he was about to say. He couldn't believe he was going to let these words pass his lips but he had to if he wanted to find out anything about Elizabeth. "Then try Elizabeth Morgan." Ric heard his voice falter.  
  
"No sir, no Elizabeth Morgan either."  
  
Ric cringed as the woman on the other end of the phone repeated Elizabeth Morgan. "Are you sure?" He was at a loss. The way Jason had run out of the cabin before he couldn't imagine that it wasn't in some way tied to Elizabeth's safety.  
  
"Is there something else I can help you with sir?" The voice on the other end of the line invaded his thoughts.  
  
"No." Ric slammed down the phone without so much as a thank you or good bye. Ric's lids fell heavy against his eyes as he slumped down on the floor alongside the sofa table that held the phone. Jason and Sonny had done it again. They were keeping him away from his wife. The fury inside him grew with mountainous force. Ever since the whole panic room debacle and Emily's death Jason had been standing between him and what belonged to him – Elizabeth. Ric couldn't stop thinking of Elizabeth lying in some hospital bed hurt with Jason sitting beside her lovingly. That idea had his pulse pounding the sound resonating throughout his head. He couldn't – wouldn't lose her.  
  
Slowly he rose from his position on the floor cradling his injured wrists attempting to stave off the waves of pain that rolled through his body. Ric placed his hands on the portion of the wall he knew would slide away as soon as he pressed the remote in his pocket. Even after all this time he still carried it with him and half heartedly had considered using the place again to bring Elizabeth to her senses but instead Ric chose to use the room as a shire to his wife. He let out a painful yelp when the bandage on his wrist caught on his pocket as his fingers fumbled in an effort to find the button that would allow him access to his sanctuary. Almost immediately the access panel slid back into the wall and the sight before him stunned him.  
  
There they were all of Elizabeth's paintings – the ones he had been able to salvage from her studio torn to shreds thrown across the floor of the panic room. Ric left his breath quicken to the point he was barely able to breathe. He ran his fingers along the slashed canvases leaving drops of blood their path. Ric felt as if he had lost another part of Elizabeth again. The only notion that brought him any comfort was that Jason had to have been consumed by jealousy to have trashed Elizabeth's paintings. That made Ric extremely pleased.  
  
"Don't you like the way I redecorated the place?"  
  
Faith's voice startled him. He hadn't even heard her enter the house. "You? You did this?" he questioned dumbfounded and suddenly disappointed that what he had envisioned playing out hadn't.  
  
"Un huh," she confirmed stepping over a canvas to enter the room.  
  
"Why?"  
  
She looked at him with disbelief in her eyes. Is he really that stupid Faith thought to herself? "Um.... Let me see," she began. "How would you expect your lover to take this little mausoleum of sorts?" Faith made a sweeping gesture with her hands to illustrate all things Elizabeth that threatened to swallow her.  
  
"What did you do to her?" Ric asked not bothering to answer the question Faith had directed at him. All he could hear repeating in his ears was the one sided conversation he had heard Jason having – the conversation about Elizabeth. "What did you do to her!?!" he questioned once more coming to stand nose to nose with a woman he no longer had any use for.  
  
"What the hell happened to you?" Faith inquired taking a good look at Ric's beaten face and bloody extremities.  
  
"I swear to god if you hurt her I will kill you myself!" Ric grabbed the lapels of Faith cream silk jacket leaving tell tell markings of his own blood behind.  
  
"What is it about that little ragamuffin that men fall all over themselves protecting her?" Faith wondered aloud. "First that oaf Max, we all know that Morgan would die for her and now you. What the hell is so special about her?" Faith's cocky intonation had the hairs on the back of Ric's neck standing on end.  
  
"What did you do to her?" He had the makings of sounding like a broken record.  
  
"Hum...." Faith brought her finger to her chin as though she was perplexed by his question. "I heard about a shooting....."  
  
"SHOOTING!?!" Ric's voice filled with panic as images of Elizabeth being shot filled his head. No wonder Jason had darted from the cabin leaving him there to twist in the wind.  
  
"Oh don't worry your precious Elizabeth is fine – for now," she added purposely. "You thought wrong when you thought you could play me. You thought you could lead me around by the nose and I wouldn't notice. Well that was a miscalculation on your part. Watch your back Lansing and your little wifey's too."  
  
Ric watched Faith exit as quickly as she had entered. He stood motionless feet affixed to the floor as her not so veiled threats bounced around in the recesses of his mind. He leaned against the table that housed the monitors he had used to torture Carly with while he held her captive. He had forced her to watch the goings on inside the Lansing house. She was subjected to witnessing both Sonny and Jason's endless arrivals there to search for to only come up empty handed over and over again. Ric felt the bile rise high into his throat as he recalled her trying desperately to get him to understand that Elizabeth was about to drink lemonade that Faith had poisoned. Ric shook his head in a vain attempt at shaking off the pictures in his mind's eye of all of the acts Faith had committed against his wife. A sudden sense of urgency filled him. He knew that Faith's barrage against Elizabeth wasn't about to end. He had to put a stop to it. Quickly he grabbed his jacket and headed for the door.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Marcus Taggert was sitting at his desk when Ric charged through the doors of the PCPD. He went straight for the detective's desk. "I want you to arrest Faith Roscoe," he said plopping down the chair across from the man wearing the badge.  
  
"You want me to arrest who?" Taggert asked looking up from the file he had been studying. A file whose information wasn't bringing him any closer to bringing Sonny Corinthos or Jason Morgan down.  
  
"Faith Roscoe," Ric said again.  
  
"On what charge?" Taggert almost mocked him.  
  
"The attempted murder of my wife."  
  
Taggert leaned back in his chair and scrutinized the man before him. From where he sat Ric Lansing was no better than the other men he was trying so desperately to put away but he certainly wasn't above using any means necessary to get what he wanted. "What the hell happened to you?" the detective finally asked as he surveyed the battered man seated in front of him.  
  
"Didn't you hear me? I want you to arrest Faith Roscoe. She tried to kill my wife today."  
  
"I heard you."  
  
"Then why the hell are you just sitting there starring at me? Why aren't you putting out an APB on Faith?"  
  
Taggert continued to give Ric a questioning gaze. He would have laughed if he found it even remotely funny. There sat Ric Lansing, half brother to Sonny Corinthos whose ex wife was shacking up with none other than Sonny's enforcer Jason Morgan and he was trying to put his brother's biggest competitor behind bars. It was all too ironic.  
  
"What?" Ric asked angry that the man looking back at him from the other side of the desk could do nothing but smirk.  
  
"I'm just trying to make sense out of it all."  
  
"What's there to make sense of? I told you Faith is after my wife."  
  
"Don't you mean ex wife?" Marcus Taggert corrected him.  
  
"That doesn't matter," Ric shrugged off that minor detail. "She's already tried to kill her once today. You know she's going to try again."  
  
"Now wouldn't the be something anger boy should be worried about? How's that concern me?" Taggert was enjoying toying with a man who was obviously desperate. He wondered just how desperate though. The phone on his desk rang before he was able to give that anymore thought. "Taggert."  
  
As he listened to the voice on the other end of the line he kept his eyes riveted on Ric Lansing. The tale he was being told sparked a plan in his brain. "I understand, but I assure you that Elizabeth Lansing...who now goes by her maiden name Webber." Taggert watched as Ric's face blanched at the sound of Elizabeth's name. "is alive and well and here in Port Charles. No, no not a hint of foul play from her husband. I will be sure to call you if we come across Mr. Lansing. Evening sheriff." Taggert replaced the receiver in its cradle and stared Ric directly in the eye. "Start talking or I ship you back to Mayberry," Taggert joked though there was no humor in his tone. "and let them deal with you!"  
  
"What... what," Ric stuttered, "what does Elizabeth have to do...."  
  
Before he was even able to complete his sentence Taggert cut him off. "Seems as though you have people in that little hick town thinking you killed your wife before you tried offing yourself." Taggert motioned to the blood soaked bandages. "You really should have those looked at."  
  
Suddenly self conscious Ric slipped his hands out of view. "I would never hurt Elizabeth!" he said in defense of himself.  
  
"But you would try to hurt yourself?" Taggert questioned.  
  
"NO – NEVER!" Ric sounded as though the mere thought of that was sheer lunacy.  
  
"Then do you care to tell me what the hell happened to you? Or did you decide to step in front of a Mack truck?"  
  
Ric felt his body beginning to shake. What the hell had he gotten himself into? He had only wanted to protect Elizabeth. He had just wanted to remove Faith from the equation but rather than doing that he had put himself smack in the middle again. He was well aware of Marcus Taggert's hatred for both Jason and Sonny and he would use any means necessary to capitalize on that – even if that meant feeding Ric to the wolves in the process. "I got into a fight."  
  
"A fight huh? With who a mountain lion?"  
  
"It started out as a difference of opinion and it got out of hand."  
  
"I'll bet!" Taggert said not buying a single word of it.  
  
"Actually it turned ugly and I ended up getting slashed by a broken bottle."  
  
"You don't say? And here I didn't think Morgan used any other weapon than his gun. But hell a broken bottle would get the job done just as nicely with far less evidence to dispose of." Taggert sat back and watched Lansing squirm at the mention of Jason Morgan's name.  
  
"Jason didn't do this to me."  
  
"You really expect me to believe that?"  
  
"He didn't."  
  
"Hey Bruce," Taggert turned to the uniformed office at the sergeant's desk. "Arrange a transport for me would ya. I have to have a murder suspect taken back to Hayes Landing."  
  
"Sure thing," the officer said.  
  
"Wait," Ric announced.  
  
"Hold that thought Bruce." Taggert turned back and looked at Lansing. "So are you ready to file assault and battery charges against Jason Morgan?"  
  
Ric looked away for a moment. Maybe this was just what he needed. Maybe it would go along way in showing Elizabeth what kind of man she had aligned herself with. "Yes, yes I am."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The heavy pounding that reverberated from downstairs startled Jason. He hadn't been fully asleep but rather enjoying how Elizabeth felt resting against his body. At the sound of persistent knocking he disentangled himself from her doing his best to disturb her blissful slumber. Quickly he pulled on a pair of gray jogging pants and padded down the stairs.  
  
"This better be damn important!" he growled running his hand through his blonde spikes.  
  
"Sorry boss," Max's voice came from behind Detective Taggert's shoulder.  
  
"What the hell do you want?" Jason just shook his head tired of the officer's continual harassment.  
  
"Jason Morgan you are under arrest for the assault and battery of Ric Lansing....."  
  
"Jason?" Elizabeth's soft voice came from behind him. He turned to see her standing there in her silk pajama bottoms and tank top. He was about to turn and go to her when Taggert joyfully placed his handcuffs around Jason's wrists.  
  
"You have the right to an attorney. If you can not afford one...."  
  
"I know the drill." Jason interrupted him. "Max call Justus."  
  
"Wait!" Elizabeth cried out as Jason was being pulled from the penthouse toward the awaiting elevator. "At least have the decency to let him get dressed." She addressed her comment to the over zealous detective.  
  
"Fine." Taggert had been so consumed by arresting Jason that he hadn't taken notice of his attire or lack there of.  
  
Elizabeth dashed up the stairs at Jason's heels. She watched in silence as he pulled on his signature blue jeans, black tee shirt and leather jacket. Without warning she flew from her perch on the bed wrapping her arms tightly around his waist.  
  
"Sshh," Jason said as he soothed her unkempt curls. "Please don't cry baby. Justus will handle everything. I'll be back here before you can even miss me." He smiled as he kissed the tip of her nose. "I better go before Taggert thinks he can come charging up the stairs."  
  
"Jason..." her voice hitched in her throat.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I love you. No matter what I love you." She gave him a weak smile as Taggert returned the handcuffs to his wrists.  
  
"I love you too baby."  
  
"Let's go!" Taggert barked disgusted by the scene before him.  
  
Max gently closed the door as Elizabeth watched tears escaping her sapphire eyes. 


	32. Chaos

Second Chances: Chaos  
  
The sound the latch made as it came into contact with the door frame was all Elizabeth needed to hear for her tears to begin falling – first silently then turning into uncontrollable sobs that filled the sparse living room. Standing just beyond the heavy wooden door Max was still able to hear the clear reverberation of Elizabeth's cries. It took all he had not to leave his post to see if she was all right. Hearing her cry broke his heart. After all that she and his boss had been through to finally be together – Max wondered if they would ever catch a much needed break.  
  
Elizabeth drew her legs close to her chest wrapping her arms around her shins letting her chin rest on her knees. All she could do was stare straight ahead in her best attempt at aligning her thoughts. Jason had just been arrested. She had watched Taggert handcuff the man she loved and drag him out of his own home. Just moments before all of it she had been lying securely in Jason's arms. Now suddenly she was sitting there alone fearing for the man who had come to be her everything. In her mind she knew that Jason had been through far worse and had come out of all of it unscathed. Elizabeth knew that Justus was a stellar attorney who knew the ins and outs of the world Jason and Sonny lived. Yet for her Ric was the wild card in this all. She knew exactly what her ex-husband was capable of and going after Jason by any means possible wasn't beyond the realm of his thinking.  
  
Elizabeth stood up and began pacing the floor looking for any way to expend the nervous energy that filled her. She knew that no matter how much she wanted to going to the PCPD to support Jason wasn't an option. In fact knowing Taggert she was sure it would only serve to make matters worse. But sitting there alone in the penthouse wasn't an alternative either. She was already going stir crazy and Jason had been gone less than a half-hour. Her eyes were suddenly drawn to the photo of Sonny and his family that sat high up on the mantel. It now dawned her that Jason had made no mention to Max of clueing in Sonny to what was going on. That confused her but then again the state of Jason's friendship with Sonny Corinthos as of late was confusing. For Elizabeth it was almost like all those years before when she had found Jason shot. He hadn't wanted to discuss what had happened to his relationship with Sonny then and it was very similar now. The only difference for Elizabeth this time around was that she was much better at reading Jason now. He carried the same distant look in his clear blue eyes now as he had then. It was a look of betrayal. Elizabeth was all too familiar with such a look. She had seen it mirrored in her own eyes on more occasions than she cared to recall.  
  
She let out a heavy sigh as her eyes came to rest on the picture of her, Jason and Emily from years ago. A lump began to grow in her throat as reality that Emily was gone hit her again. Somehow being with Jason had eased that loss in a way she couldn't explain but witnessing the pleasure Detective Taggert had taken in slapping his handcuffs on Jason and dragging him off to the police station had Elizabeth fearing the worst. What if this was the one time that Taggert would get his way? What if somehow Justus couldn't make it all go away as he had done so many times before? The burning question that Elizabeth hadn't let her self think about finally pushed its way to the surface – what if she lost Jason? That notion wasn't even remotely acceptable to her. Hell would freeze over first before she was going to lose him because of something Ric had ultimately set in motion months ago. Elizabeth was well aware of the fact that Jason wouldn't like what she was about to do but she had no choice but to approach Sonny.  
  
After changing out of her pajamas Elizabeth stood before the door to Sonny and Carly's penthouse. Johnny gave her a nod as she knocked softly suddenly losing her nerve but before she could turn tail and run the door swung open revealing Carly's very pregnant form.  
  
"Elizabeth?" Carly's questioned.  
  
"I need to speak to Sonny." Elizabeth spoke firmly.  
  
"Come in." Carly ushered the younger woman into the room. "He's in the kitchen. Sonny!" she called to him from where she stood. "Why don't you sit down?" Carly suggested sensing that something was definitely wrong.  
  
"What – you need to be quiet Carly or the soufflé will fall....oh Elizabeth," Sonny stopped short when he saw the petite brunette in the middle of his living room.  
  
"Jason's been arrested," she said before either of them could say a word.  
  
"WHAT??" the pair said in unison.  
  
"On what charge?" Sonny questioned knowing full well that he hadn't sent Jason out on jobs in weeks.  
  
"Assault and battery."  
  
"Assault and battery?" Sonny parroted. "Of who?"  
  
Elizabeth hesitated for a second knowing full well the name that was about to slip passed her lips was the root of the troubles between the mob boss and his enforcer. "Ric," she whispered finally.  
  
"Damn!" Sonny growled.  
  
Carly stood quietly watching her husband's reaction. She feared this day would come. Feared that Sonny's unyielding position concerning his mother's other son would cost him the only true brother he had.  
  
"Taggert came storming into the penthouse with a warrant. He handcuffed Jason and well...." Elizabeth's voice faltered as she caught the sob that was threatening escape in her throat. She certainly didn't need to break down in front of either of them. "Max called Justus, but...." Elizabeth wavered once more.  
  
Sonny's stare was fixated on Elizabeth. Emotions of anger and concern played tug of war with his brain. What the hell had Jason done? He knew that Ric was off limits. What was he thinking? It was then Sonny averted his gaze to Carly and he understood clearing what Jason Morgan was thinking.  
  
"Sonny," Elizabeth's soft questioning voice brought his attention back to her. "I don't know what's going on with the two...."  
  
"I'm going," he said before she could finish her thought. He glanced at Carly who was reading her husband's mind.  
  
"Go, you need to go." She assured him.  
  
Before reaching for his suit jacket draped over the back of a chair Sonny turned and looked at Elizabeth. "You need to stay here until I get back." The last thing he needed right now was for Faith to take another pot shot at her.  
  
"I'll just go back to Jason's and wait," she said following behind him.  
  
"I'd feel better if you would just stay here," Sonny stressed.  
  
Elizabeth looked back at Carly sitting on the velveteen sofa and felt her stomach roll end over end. Leaving her and Carly alone in a room never turned out good. However she nodded in agreement as Sonny closed the door behind him.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jason sat inside the PCPD's interrogation room as he had done on numerous other occasions. He focused his steely gaze on the two-way mirror knowing full well that Marcus Taggert was doing the same. While Jason's face was vacant of any readable expression his mind was full of questions – questions about Ric Lansing.  
  
Jason hadn't been able to speak to Max before the elevator doors closed other than to have him call Justus for him and that bothered him. A knot in the enforcer's stomach tightened at the thought that somehow Lansing had managed to free himself from his prison. It didn't bother Jason that Ric had had a death wish by having the audacity to actually file charges against him it was the idea that Ric was free to again approach Elizabeth that made Jason's mind race. He was unable to control the wild thoughts that besieged him. The notion of remaining calm, cool and collected was a difficult one for Jason. It seemed anytime that Elizabeth was added to the equation the demeanor that he was famous for became null and void.  
  
"I'm here to speak with my client." Jason heard Justus' voice just beyond the door before it swung open.  
  
"You're going down Morgan," Taggert said almost gleefully.  
  
Justus waited for the sound of the closing door behind him before speaking. "What the hell is this all about? Max called and said you'd been arrested on assault and battery charges? That's so not like you Jason."  
  
"Make them go away. I need to get out of here," Jason said so matter of fact.  
  
"I'd love to if I knew what the hell I was dealing with." Justus leaned forward looking his client, his cousin square in the eye.  
  
"Ric Lansing."  
  
Justus let out a deep sigh at the name. He was well aware of what Sonny's half brother was capable. The file Jason had complied on Ric and given to him to read was over two inches thick and contained a laundry list of offenses committed by the man. "Can you be a little more specific man?" Justus was already tired of Jason's monosyllabic approach at conversation.  
  
Jason rubbed his free hand against his face not even sure where to begin the tale. Yet he found a way. Justus listened as he filled in the gaps that Ric's file hadn't held. "You did this without Sonny's knowledge?" Justus questioned noticeably stunned by that fact.  
  
"Yes. I couldn't make him understand and I wasn't about to wait for something else to happen. I could have lost Elizabeth twice now because Lansing just doesn't know when to quit." Jason made no apologies for his actions.  
  
"You know you really fucked up here though. Leaving a man still breathing isn't really like you Jason."  
  
"I know." He chastised himself for running out leaving the job unfinished but after hearing about the drive by shooting his only thoughts had been about only Elizabeth and getting to her.  
  
"How the hell did Lansing get away and more importantly what on earth possessed him to turn you in?" Justus asked knowing full well that both were rhetorical in nature.  
  
"I don't know and frankly I don't care at this point. You just need to get me out of here. I don't like leaving Elizabeth vulnerable."  
  
"Understood." Justus nodded. "Before I can do anything I need to see the evidence the cops have against you." Just as the attorney was standing up and reaching for the door Sonny entered the small room very much to Jason's surprise.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Carly looked on as Elizabeth paced in front of the French doors that led to the terrace only stopping momentarily to see if Jason and Sonny were home. "Why don't you come sit down?" she suggested.  
  
"I don't want to sit down," Elizabeth stated.  
  
"How about a drink or something?"  
  
"I don't need you to play hostess Carly," Elizabeth said sarcastically. "I don't want to be here anymore than you want me here. I'm well aware of what you think of me."  
  
Carly chose to ignore the opening she would have once used to spew her list of reasons why Elizabeth was wrong for Jason.  
  
Much to Elizabeth's shock Carly remained silent only pouring herself and her guest a glass of orange juice. "Here." Carly offered it to her. "Sonny says it's good for you," she said with a weak smile.  
  
Elizabeth accepted the glass and returned Carly's smile with one of her own despite trying not too. She had a pang jealousy run through her as she watched Carly waddle her way back to the sofa. Instinctively she laid her hand against her own flat stomach and recalled the life she had lost.  
  
"I'm sorry you lost your baby," Carly said as though she was reading her mind. "You do know that Sonny would have never pushed you down the steps?" She half stated half questioned.  
  
"I know," Elizabeth whispered. She had been the one to sit with Sonny the day that Carly had lost their baby in a very similar situation. She knew how devastated he was by that loss and in her heart she understood that he would have never inflicted that pain on another. He may have been many things but that cruel wasn't one of them. "I tried to make Ric understand... but he just couldn't – wouldn't listen."  
  
Carly nodded. She had been privy to Ric's rants about how Sonny had cost him his child and that he was going to pay for that. She understood that no amount of rationale made him change his mind.  
  
"I know you think I was a fool to not know he was holding you in our home." Elizabeth looked down as she spoke afraid to meet the other woman's eyes. "I swear to you Carly I didn't know. I should have listened to Jason the first time he approached me about it. I just couldn't. I didn't want to believe that Ric was lying. I wanted so desperately to believe that he had put his vendetta against Sonny aside. I wanted to believe that he had changed. None of this would be happening if I had just let Jason explain...." As hard as she tried to stop them the tears escaped her eyes just the same.  
  
"Jason's arrest. He went after Ric?" Carly asked ignoring Elizabeth's talk about her time in the panic room. She still wasn't able to completely forgive the tiny brunette sitting across from her. Carly knew it would be a long time before she would be able to put that behind her.  
  
"Yes. I knew when he left the penthouse two days ago he was going after Ric then when he never came home..."  
  
"That's when you came over here looking for Jason." Carly finished her thought for her.  
  
"Yes. I was hoping Sonny knew where he was. I wanted him to be out on some business for him...."  
  
"So now what you are going to use this as another reason to leave Jason? He didn't act the way you wanted him to so he's not worthy of your love?" Carly's fangs were drawn again in defense of her long time friend. Admittedly old habits died hard for her.  
  
Elizabeth could have kicked herself for allowing herself to be lulled into believing that she and Carly could even be civil to one another. She squared her shoulders and stared down the blonde banshee before speaking. "Jason could have killed Ric for all I care! That wouldn't have changed how I feel about him. I love him!" Elizabeth said deliberately.  
  
That declaration stunned Carly into silence.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"What are you doing here?" Jason asked Sonny.  
  
"I'm going to get that information I need," Justus said leaving the pair alone.  
  
"Elizabeth came over and told me you had been arresting for assaulting Ric."  
  
"And what you are here to ball me out about it?" Jason was immediately defensive.  
  
"What the hell's going on with you Jason? You're never this sloppy."  
  
Jason wasn't sure how to answer those remarks. They weren't at all what he was expecting.  
  
"This is all you have?" Justus said as he and Detective Taggert marched into the interrogation room joining Sonny and Jason.  
  
"It's all I need counselor. It's a signed complaint against anger boy....I mean Mr. Morgan."  
  
"Like hell it's all you need Detective!" Justus countered. "It's your complainant's word against my client's. It's circumstantial at best and you know it."  
  
"Can't you ever give it a rest Taggert?" Sonny inquired as he shook his head.  
  
Justus laid the papers that Ric had signed on the table. Jason could see the tell tell signs of blood smeared on them just below the signature. He suppressed a smile knowing full well that the nylon ropes Ric had been tied to the chair with had done significant damage.  
  
"Can you put my client anywhere near Mr. Lansing at the time in question? Do you have a single witness that can attest to the altercation that Mr. Lansing says happened between him and my client?" Justus fired off his questions.  
  
"Morgan isn't one for witnesses if you know what I mean?" Taggert gave Justus a knowing wink.  
  
"Jason's been working with Max and Johnny on the warehouse books for the last couple of days. When he's not with them he's with Elizabeth," Sonny stated.  
  
"Oh right...so you expect me to believe the statements of a mob moll and your lackeys Corinthos?" Taggert snorted.  
  
Jason tightened his jaw and clenched his fists at the reference to Elizabeth as a mob moll. Easily Sonny rested his hand on Jason's shoulder knowing the storm brewing within his friend.  
  
"Apparently detective you have no real evidence to hold my client any longer. All you truly have is the word of a man with revenge running through his veins. All you have is a jilted husband looking to make trouble for the man his ex-wife is now in love with. Not a case that will hold up in court."  
  
"I have enough to hold him!" Taggert pressed.  
  
"Well let's find out if your superiors agree with you, shall we? I'm sure that Mac Scorpio would be interested to hear about the million dollar law suit I intend to file against you and the department for its harassment of my client. Shall we go find him?" Justus made a sweeping motion with his hand toward the door.  
  
Taggert swallowed the angry roar that hung in his throat as he removed the handcuffs from Jason's wrist. He couldn't risk the reprimand from Mac since he had been warned several times already about his persistent need to hound both Corinthos and Morgan. "You're free to go," he said nearly choking on those words.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Cat got your tongue Carly?" Elizabeth said to the woman standing before her with the deer in the headlights look in her eyes.  
  
"You're not angry with Jason for going after Ric?" Carly was having trouble wrapping her mind around that thought. It wasn't at all what she had expected to hear.  
  
"No."  
  
"Wait a minute, let me get this straight. You knew that Jason was going after Ric and you just let him?"  
  
"I guess so. I didn't know for sure but I have my suspicions."  
  
Carly was utterly dumbfounded. "I can't believe it."  
  
"What's not to believe? For all that Ric's done I thought you of all people would be jumping for joy at the thought of Ric being eradicated from the picture."  
  
"I would...I am...I just..."  
  
"Just what Carly? Shocked to find out I'm not as pure as you once thought me to be. I told you before I am nobody's angel. You just didn't want to believe me. It was easier to believe that Jason's only feelings for me were gratitude and mine for him were only those of being his savior. You were wrong about me then and you are wrong about me now. You wanted me to run from Jason over this so you could say I told you so to him. Well it's not going to happen, Carly. I am done running away from the best thing that's ever happened to me."  
  
With that being said Elizabeth turned and headed for the doorway. She didn't care that Sonny wanted her to stay there and wait for him. She couldn't be in the same room with Carly any longer. It was the sound of glass shattering on the floor and Carly's voice crying out in pain that had Elizabeth stop in her tracks. She swung around to see Carly crumpled against the sofa with her hands cradling her abdomen.  
  
"Carly!?!?!" Elizabeth rushed to the pregnant woman's side. "Carly?" The panicked look in her eyes told Elizabeth all she needed to know. "Hang on!" She rushed across the room and threw open the door her voice bouncing off the walls as she screamed. "MAX....JOHNNY....FRANCIS.....ANYONE!!!!!!!!" 


	33. Labor of Love

Second Chances: Labor of Love  
  
"MAX, JOHNNY, FRANCIS...ANYONE!" Elizabeth's urgent voice echoed throughout the hallway. Leaving the door hanging wide open she hurried back to Carly who was still on the floor beside the sofa not only was she still holding her swollen belly but also she had now taken to panting. "Carly, you have to relax," Elizabeth instructed trying to assess if the panting was a true sign of labor or if Carly was on the verge of hyperventilating.  
  
"I need Sonny," Carly spit out between labored breaths.  
  
"We need to get you to the hospital," Elizabeth stated.  
  
"I want Sonny," Carly's voice shook as the tears pooled in her eyes.  
  
Elizabeth suddenly felt compassion for a woman who she never thought deserved any but she had been through so much already that Elizabeth couldn't help feeling it none the less. "I know." She smiled weakly. "We'll get him. Don't worry."  
  
"Elizabeth?" Max's breathless voice came from behind her. He was immediately followed by Johnny and Francis all fearing the worst after hearing the enforcer's girlfriend's panicked cries.  
  
"I think Carly's going into labor."  
  
All three men stood dumbfounded. If there hadn't been such an urgency Elizabeth might have laughed at how the three men who were willing to take a bullet for them were suddenly paralyzed with fear at the thought of Carly being in labor.  
  
"Hello!" Elizabeth waved her hand before their fixated eyes. "I could use some help here. Carly you think you can stand?" she asked turning her attention back to woman lying on the floor.  
  
"Uh-huh," Carly nodded as Elizabeth placed her arms under Carly's. Finally Max's senses kicked in and rushed over to the pair.  
  
"You okay?" Elizabeth asked when Carly was standing upright. "You think you can make it to the elevator?"  
  
"Yeah," Carly said as she blew a hard breath from her mouth.  
  
"I'll meet you downstairs," Elizabeth turned to Max. "I'm going to call GH to let them know that we are coming....." Carly reached for the tiny brunette's arm as she headed for the phone. "I'll make the call from the car," Elizabeth said sensing that for whatever reason Carly didn't want her to leave. How ironic was that she thought to herself?  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jason and Sonny stood back while Justus finished up the necessary forms for Jason's release. He wanted to be sure that he went on record stating the continual harassment of his clients. There was an awkward silence between the two men neither knowing what to say to the other. Before either was able to speak Sonny's cell phone rang from inside his suit coat. "Yeah? Elizabeth....slow down...." At the mention of Elizabeth's name Jason's attention was riveted on Sonny. "What? She's what? Where are you? I'll be right there."  
  
"Sonny?"  
  
"Carly's in labor."  
  
"Go!" Jason said without hesitation. The tension between them was dissolved abruptly the only thought between them was of Carly and the baby.  
  
Jason watched as Sonny practically sprinted from the police station. How much more could any of them take he thought to himself as he waited for Justus to return.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Where's Sonny? I need Sonny....ouch!" Carly clutched her stomach as another contraction ripped through her.  
  
"He's on his way Carly." Elizabeth tried to calm the blonde as they waited for both Dr. Meadows and Sonny to arrive.  
  
Carly reached for Elizabeth's hand when another wave of pain constricted the muscles in her abdomen. "Elizabeth, I'm scared. It's too early for this baby to be born."  
  
"I know – I know." Elizabeth stroked her arm in an attempt to sooth her. "You just need to stay calm."  
  
"That's good advice. You should take it," Dr. Meadows said as she pulled the curtain aside and began reading the monitors that Carly and her baby were now attached to. "Elizabeth would you mind stepping out I need to examine Carly?"  
  
"Sure. I'll be right outside."  
  
"Can't she stay?" Carly questioned. Elizabeth was stunned that Carly even wanted her there.  
  
"It's highly unusual."  
  
"Since when have I have been usual?"  
  
"If you want her to stay she certainly can." Dr. Meadows relented.  
  
"Elizabeth, please stay."  
  
She nodded and took her spot beside Carly as the doctor when about the business of examining her patient. Occasionally Carly's grip on Elizabeth's hand would tighten when another contraction would take hold. Elizabeth smiled and did her best to keep Carly's thoughts on anything but what was going on around her. For once Elizabeth was glad she had the knack for rambling.  
  
"Well I have good news," Dr. Meadows finally said. "You're less than a centimeter dilated. That's very good. I am going to administer over the next several hours through an IV some medication that will halt your contractions. I'd liked to keep you over night and then you will be on oral medication to control the contractions once you are at home. You need to be sure that you get plenty of rest...."  
  
"I'll make sure of that," Sonny's panic stricken face appeared from between the curtain.  
  
"SONNY!" Carly's eyes lit up at the sight of him.  
  
Elizabeth stepped aside so that he was able to hold his wife. She stood back and watched the loving pair cradle one another.  
  
"What happened?" Sonny finally asked.  
  
"I don't know. We were talking and then all of the sudden I just got these sharp pains in my stomach and before I knew it I was laying on the floor."  
  
"Dr. Meadows?" Sonny turned his questioning eyes toward the doctor.  
  
"I have run a few tests to rule out any medical reasons for the pre- term labor such as an infection of some sort but if those come back negative then my best guess as a reason for it would be stress. You're wife needs to say calm," she emphasized.  
  
"Done," Sonny assured her even though he was less than sure he could actually pull off such a feet. Carly was anything but calm and given what was going on in their lives at the moment he was certain that that would be difficult.  
  
"I'll be back to check on you later," Dr. Meadows announced before leaving the room.  
  
"I'll leave you two alone too," Elizabeth said as well.  
  
"Wait." Elizabeth turned back and waited for Carly to speak. "Thank you," the blonde said. "Thank you so much."  
  
"You're welcome Carly."  
  
"No charges were filed against Jason," Sonny said answering the question under the circumstances Elizabeth had been unable to ask. "It was just Taggert being Taggert again."  
  
"Thank you Sonny."  
  
"Don't thank me, thank Justus. It was his fancy talking that had Taggert tied in knots."  
  
"What I wouldn't have given to see that," Carly chimed in.  
  
"You won't be seeing anything like that any time soon. Dr. Meadows said calm."  
  
"I'm perfectly calm now that you're here."  
  
Elizabeth watched as the pair snuggled against one another. For once she was able to see the similarities in both of their relationships. Sonny was for Carly what Jason was for her. He was her everything – her world just like Jason was for her. Both couples were the halves of the same whole and without the other something was most definitely missing.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Ric peaked around the corner surveying his surroundings. Since leaving the PCPD earlier he found himself hiding behind a mired of objects that would provide him any sort of cover. Not only did he have to concern himself with Faith and her not so veiled threats but Jason Morgan as well. Ric had basically just let Taggert feed himself to the wolves. What had he been thinking when he allowed the police detective talk him into not to mention signing a complaint against Morgan? Did he have a freakin' death wish? The constant throbbing in his wrists reminded him that he indeed did.  
  
Ric stood in the shadows waiting for a clear entry into the emergency room of General Hospital. He couldn't wait any longer in getting his wounds attended to. He slipped through the sliding ambulance doors and walked to the information desk. Ric was thankful to see not a single familiar face.  
  
He used the same lame rendition of events that he had tried to get Taggert to buy earlier when he was asked how he sustained his injuries. When the young nurse wanted to call and report the incident Ric assured her that that had already been taken care of on the scene and what he really needed right now was to have the slashes on his wrists stitched. After several shots of novocaine to numb the area the physician's assistant went about closing the wounds.  
  
"Thank you," he said to the nurse who handed him a prescription for painkillers and one for antibiotics.  
  
"You will need to come back in two weeks to have the stitches removed," the young girl said with a smile.  
  
Ric only nodded completely ignoring the girl's vain attempt at flirtation. It was then that he saw her. He saw Elizabeth.  
  
Elizabeth had just checked in on Carly one more time. She couldn't help but smile at the sight she had seen. There laid Carly with her head resting on Sonny's chest. She was sound asleep and Elizabeth could have sworn Sonny was doing the same even though she was damn sure that he would never admit to it.  
  
She laughed thinking how on so many levels Sonny and Jason were alike. They had hearts over flowing with so much love for those closest to them yet for their enemies they had no hearts at all. It saddened her that on this one occasion they didn't see eye to eye on who the true enemy was. Even though Jason had been less than forthcoming with the situation between he and Sonny Elizabeth was able to surmise Sonny wanted to pursue Faith as the only culprit in their recent trouble and Jason was just as unbending in pursuit of Ric.  
  
"Elizabeth?" Ric's voice startled her.  
  
Momentarily she was paralyzed with fear. She looked around suddenly wishing she hadn't given Francis the slip. But at the time she just needed to be alone. She could have kicked herself for that now. "Leave me alone or I swear I will scream!"  
  
"Are you all right?" he asked softly doing everything in his power not to wrap his arms around her. He couldn't contain his relief that she was okay. That Faith hadn't been lying when she had told him as much.  
  
"Leave me alone Ric!" Elizabeth headed for the elevator. Stress was the last thing that Carly needed but she felt she had little choice but to head back to her room knowing full well that Johnny would be there.  
  
"Wait!" He reached for her arm which she promptly smacked away with her other hand. He yelped in pain when her touch came in contact with his injuries.  
  
There was a point in time that she might have offered her assistance or even felt a pang of guilt for his pain but not any more. She could have cared less. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT!?!" Her raised voice was drawing attention, which was exactly what she wanted.  
  
"Please, please we need to talk."  
  
"You are kidding me right? What would we have to talk about?" Elizabeth let out a humorless laugh.  
  
"I just want to help you. Faith she's...."  
  
Elizabeth didn't even let him finish. "HELP? You want to help me? Help me how? You think that accusing Jason of assaulting you would endear you to me?"  
  
Ric felt the vein in his neck begin to throb. When was she ever going to open her eyes to the real Jason Morgan? "Are you blind? Look at me Elizabeth. I nearly died..."  
  
"It's a shame you didn't," she said loud enough for him to hear.  
  
Those words tore through his heart but they didn't stop him. "Jason tortured me Elizabeth. He sat in front of me with his gun pointed at my temple. He was going to kill me!" Ric's hysteria over the event consumed his tone. "Does this prove to you yet that Jason's nothing more than a killer? How can you live with a man that derives pleasure from another person's pain?"  
  
"I don't live with that man anymore!"  
  
Ric's breath hitched in his throat at that statement. Had he heard her right? Did she just say that she no longer lived with Jason? All of his agony, nearly bleeding to death was all worth it.  
  
"I haven't lived with a man like that in months Ric. I haven't lived with a man like that since I walked out of the house you bought for the sole purpose of torturing Carly. You're the only man I know that derives pleasure from someone else's pain."  
  
"You can't mean that, Elizabeth. I love you. Everything I have done it's all been for you."  
  
"DON'T – don't you dare hang that noose around my neck. Everything you did had nothing to do with me and everything to do with enacting some sick revenge against a brother you never even knew! I was just a convenient excuse for you to continue with your plan."  
  
"How are you any different for Jason then?" Ric spat his rage escalating to a feverish pitch. "You're nothing more than the same for Morgan. You're his excuse to take revenge against me!"  
  
Elizabeth widened her eyes and shook her head at how twisted Ric truly was. He had the ability to take any situation and warp it enough to fit into his self-serving agenda. "Jason doesn't need an excuse to do anything. He loves me completely and if I had told him that I wanted him to let you be he would have, but frankly Ric I hoped that he would wipe you from my life."  
  
Ric stumbled backwards at those words. Jason had told him that Elizabeth would thank him for killing him and in essence she had just confirmed that. "No, no you can't mean that. The Elizabeth I know wouldn't ever allow that." His astonishment came through in his intonation.  
  
"I am no more the Elizabeth you knew than are you the Ric I thought I knew!"  
  
"Elizabeth?" Jason's questioning voice came from behind them.  
  
"Jason!" Without giving the confrontation she was having with Ric another thought she leapt into the arms of the man she loved.  
  
"What are you doing out here alone?" Jason asked never removing his hard stare from Ric Lansing. "Where's Max?"  
  
"Are you okay? Taggert is such...."  
  
"Answer my question," he pressed not allowing her to change the subject.  
  
"Miss Webber," Francis now joined the group. "You said you were going to the ladies room. I waited and waited."  
  
Jason was getting the picture now. "I'm sorry Fran. I just needed some time alone to think." She blushed avoiding Jason's gaze.  
  
"Francis," Jason said turning to the guard who fully expected a severe reprimand. "Get him out of my sight!" He motioned toward Ric. As much as he wanted to pummel the man standing in front of him, Jason wasn't about to make the same mistake twice. He wouldn't be giving Ric the upper hand again. "How's Carly doing?" he asked Elizabeth turning his back on Francis and his charge.  
  
"Better now that Sonny's with her."  
  
"The baby?" Jason was almost afraid to ask.  
  
"Dr. Meadows stopped the contractions and stressed that Carly needs to stay calm."  
  
"Yeah right, like that's going to happen." Jason laughed.  
  
Ric watched forlorn as they acted though he wasn't even there. Jason and Elizabeth continued their conversation about Carly without even a backward glance at him.  
  
"Let's go!" Francis pushed him toward the exit. Ric looked over his shoulder just in time for him to see Elizabeth and Jason sharing a passionate kiss. That sight only strengthened his resolve that eliminating Jason was his only viable option. 


	34. One Step Closer to the Truth

Second Chances: One Step Closer to the Truth  
  
Ric sat in the darkened panic room surround by Elizabeth's paintings that Faith had seen fit to destroy. One by one the things that once tied him to her were being removed from his life. He counted his slow deliberate breaths as they escaped him. It was the only way he knew he was alive. The numerous images of Elizabeth, his Elizabeth, with Jason threatened to strangle him. No matter where he turned he saw them – at Kelly's, the hospital, her studio, the docks. There wasn't a place in Port Charles that didn't conjure up some picture of them in his head. It was maddening.  
  
He focused his stare to the crib that sat quietly in the corner of the room. The crib he had originally bought for their baby but then used it as a constant reminder to Carly that her and Sonny's child would be his – his and Elizabeth's. Almost in a trance like state Ric made his way to that piece of baby furniture. His hands stroked the dark cherry finish as he hummed the lullaby that he had always imagined his mother, the mother Sonny had stolen from him, singing him to sleep as a child. His fingers spun the mobile that still hung overhead. The mobile that he recalled Carly saying Sonny had picked out. Ric watched it spin in circles but rather than lulling him into a quiet state as it would an infant the motion only served to deepen his stupor. He picked up the tiny white teddy bear he had placed so loving in the corner. The teddy bear that he had given Elizabeth the day after they were married. It was a symbol of all of the good things to come in their lives. It was for their child. It now sat quietly waiting for a child that was never to be.  
  
Ric dropped his body onto the cot next to the crib all at once feeling completely defeated. Everything that he had ever wanted in his life had been taken from him before he had ever gotten the chance to truly experience the joy of any of it. Sonny had had their mother's love – none of which was ever offered to him. Sonny had a wife and children who loved him – Ric had a no wife, no child. The only woman he ever loved loved someone else – wanted him dead. Ric found himself laughing suddenly almost cackling. The eerie sound reverberated off the concrete walls of the panic room. He finally understood he had nothing left to lose anymore. It didn't matter what he did or didn't do in the end Sonny and Jason would always be the winners. He couldn't have that. He wouldn't have that. Elizabeth may not have wanted him but he wasn't about to let her have Jason either.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jason had been quiet on the drive from the hospital to the penthouse. Elizabeth sat silently trying to gauge what he was thinking. He never once looked at her but kept his cerulean eyes trained on the road in front of them. To her it was obvious that he had been upset that she had given Francis the slip at the hospital. She knew it was a dumb thing to do. She did it without thinking. All of the sudden she felt like a caged animal always being watched. For a second she dropped her defenses and just pretended she didn't need the protection.  
  
Jason threw his leather jacket over the back of the chair and let his keys clatter on the desk as he dropped them. Max offered Elizabeth a small smile as she closed the door behind them. "Jason," she said softly.  
  
"Hum?" he muttered never breaking his gaze out the window.  
  
"I'm sorry about ditching Francis."  
  
"I know."  
  
"It was a stupid thing to do."  
  
"I know."  
  
Elizabeth wrapped her arms around her chest as an apparent chill filled the room. She closed her eyes and willed herself not to cry. She knew he hated it when she cried and that wasn't how she wanted to end up in his arms. She didn't want it to be out of his need to comfort her, but rather his need to just hold her.  
  
"I don't know what else to say Jason. It was dumb and I'm sorry." She let out a quick hiccup as she tried to hold the tears at bay. To her surprise when Jason turned to look at her tears hung in his own eyes. She couldn't do more than give him a questioning look.  
  
"Do you know my heart stopped when I saw the two of you?" he finally spoke. "Just the thought that he was close enough to touch you – to hurt you. I wanted to snap his neck." Elizabeth inched her way closer to where he was standing.  
  
"I should have killed him Elizabeth. I should have done us all a favor the minute I found out he was blackmailing Carly. I could have saved us all so much trouble." Elizabeth watched the pain and torment Jason had been carrying for so long explode across his face. "I could have done it clean, but Sonny wouldn't hear of it. He couldn't kill his mother's son." It all at once became clear to her what was fueling the rift between Jason and his best friend.  
  
"You aren't any more to blame for this than I am. You said it yourself Ric is the only one at fault here."  
  
"What about Sonny?" Jason asked truly needing an answer to his question.  
  
"I just don't know," she returned honestly. "I want to understand where he's coming from. I want to think that I wouldn't want Sarah dead either, but truthfully Jason anymore I don't know. I've changed. The way I see things has changed. Maybe Sonny has changed too."  
  
"What?" Jason was confused by her remarks. "The Sonny I knew wouldn't have hesitated to obliterate his enemy – wouldn't have thought twice about killing anyone who went after his family..."  
  
"That's just it Jason," Elizabeth interrupted him. "Ric's his family. Like it or not he's Sonny's brother. He's Adella's son. Can't you get that Sonny doesn't know how to handle an enemy that's family?" Elizabeth attempted to reason with him.  
  
"He's not my family!"  
  
"I know that," Elizabeth brushed her hand across his cheek. "I know that baby. Thank you for protecting me," she whispered. "Thank you for going against Sonny and doing what you needed to do to protect me from Ric. I love you Jason."  
  
Instantly Jason pulled her into a deep embrace. He hadn't realized it until he had heard her say those words that he had been afraid she wouldn't be able to understand what he had done. It didn't matter the conversation they had had before about her not wanting to know what happened to Ric or the part Jason played in it. That had only been talk but when it had turned into to something real – something tangible he feared that he would lose her all over again. "I love you too," he whispered into the folds of her chestnut locks. "I'd do anything for you Elizabeth."  
  
"I know you would. You've proved that time and time again Jason. I know what this has cost you. It's obvious the strain it's put on your relationship with Sonny. He isn't one to except anything but blind obedience and I'm sorry that Ric coming after us had put you at odds with him."  
  
"Don't be sorry."  
  
"I am though. I know that if I weren't in the picture you would still despise Ric but you wouldn't have gone after him the way that you did. You wouldn't have ignored what Sonny wanted...."  
  
"Fuck what Sonny wants. I'd do it again if it meant keeping you safe."  
  
"Sshh," she pressed her finger to his lips. "I know and I love you for it." Finally she had achieved what she hadn't been able to all those months before. She was first and foremost in Jason's world. It was just a shame it was at the expense of his bond with Sonny.  
  
"Jason," Max said as he was knocking and opening the door at the same time. "Sonny's...." Sonny closed the door in the guard's face before he had the chance to complete his remark.  
  
"We need to talk," Sonny stated looking directly at Jason.  
  
"Shouldn't you be with Carly at the hospital?" Jason asked never leaving go of Elizabeth's tiny hand.  
  
"She whined so much that Dr. Meadows allowed her to go home as long as she promised to come back tomorrow for a few more tests."  
  
"How's she feeling?" Elizabeth asked.  
  
"A little tired. Whatever Dr. Meadows gave her to stop the contractions makes her sleepy."  
  
"I think I'll go over and sit with her for awhile." Elizabeth gave Jason's hand a gentle squeeze.  
  
"Thank you. And Elizabeth," She stopped and waited for Sonny to go on. "I know that Carly's never treated you with the respect that you deserve or has she given your relationship with Jason the consideration it deserved but what you did for her today – what you did for her and our child. I can't thank you enough."  
  
"You don't have to thank me Sonny. I didn't do anything more than hold her hand. All she really wanted and needed was you."  
  
"Thank you just the same."  
  
"You're welcome. I'll be back later," she said looking at Jason.  
  
"Want a beer?" Jason asked Sonny not knowing what else to say once Elizabeth was gone.  
  
"No."  
  
"You said we needed to talk, so talk." Jason said dispensing with any more pleasantries.  
  
"What the hell were you thinking going after Ric?"  
  
"I was thinking I was saving the woman I love from a maniac. What hell were you thinking when you let him get away with all he's done to you and your family?" Jason countered, all thoughts of the talk he had just had with Elizabeth leaving his head. He couldn't – didn't want to see Sonny's reasons for why he was doing what he was doing. To Jason it was just plain stupid.  
  
"I give the orders here Jason!" Sonny fell back into his normal position of control. The position he always took when he had no other defense.  
  
"So you've told me repeatedly."  
  
"Ric was off limits! You were supposed to leave him alone!"  
  
"Why so he could continue stalking Elizabeth? I couldn't do that Sonny. You may be willing to let him think he's got some power over you because you share the same mother but that doesn't work with me. I could give a damn less!"  
  
"We know that it was Faith who set up the drive by. It's been Faith who has gone after Elizabeth over and over again...."  
  
"You're like a fucking broken record you know that?" Jason raised his voice. "Faith...Faith...Faith! That's all you can ever talk about."  
  
"Because it's her! She's using Elizabeth to get to you so she can get to me!"  
  
"And what if Ric's doing the same thing? What if he thinks by going after Elizabeth he can distract me and in turn gets his revenge on you? You ever think that Ric and Faith might be working together? I know you can't be so blind as not to know that they were living in Ric's house together up until just recently. Why were you holding out on me Sonny? Why? Could it be that you couldn't stand the fact that I just might be right again when it came to Ric?" Jason still hadn't been able to get past the fact that Sonny wouldn't listen to him. That he wouldn't believe Jason had been right all along about Ric being the one who took Carly.  
  
Without a word Sonny pulled out his cell phone and placed a cryptic call. "Pick her up! It's time that we end all of this finally!" Once his call was ended he turned back toward Jason. "I'll prove to you that Faith is behind all of this!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Hey, how are you feeling?" Elizabeth asked Johnny closed the door behind her.  
  
"Better. The contractions have completely stopped."  
  
"Good. Sonny said you whined enough for Dr. Meadows to let you come home."  
  
"I didn't whine, well maybe a little," Carly relented. "I just can't stand staying in the hospital. The beds are so uncomfortable and well the food is horrible...."  
  
"I thought I was the one who did the rambling," Elizabeth smiled realizing for the first time that she was actually making Carly Corinthos nervous.  
  
"I don't know how to thank you," she finally said.  
  
"Sonny already did. You don't need to. Besides you would have done the same for me right?" Elizabeth laughed when she said it.  
  
"Not always muffin, but I would now." Carly saw the noticeably stunned look on Elizabeth's face.  
  
"I have to ask why Carly? Why the sudden change of heart?"  
  
"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you. Besides I'm not even sure if I could explain it myself. Jason loves you. I can finally see that and I love Jase enough to want him to be happy. And like it or not muffin for whatever reason you make him happy," Carly smirked.  
  
"Now there's the Carly Corinthos I know," Elizabeth giggled.  
  
Sonny stopped outside the door to his home and listened to the women inside. He heard the sounds of laughter. He couldn't believe his ears. One friendship was forming while another was imploding.  
  
"Sonny," Carly said as she hid the bag of potato chips Elizabeth had brought out from one of her many hiding places behind her back.  
  
"I saw them." He pointed to the foil bag peaking its way from behind her. He tried to sound lighthearted but both women could tell he was anything but.  
  
"Well I'm glad you're feeling better. Remember, do what Dr. Meadows told you. I'll talk to you soon. Night Sonny." Elizabeth exited the Corinthos' penthouse and headed for the one she shared with Jason.  
  
"You up for a game?" she asked poking Jason in the back with his favorite cue stick.  
  
He turned and stared at her – her blue eyes filled with a mischievous spark as she twirled the cue between her fingers like a large baton. "You think you can beat me?"  
  
"You think you can beat me?" she countered him with his own words.  
  
"Nine ball then," Jason returned in a playfully cocky tone.  
  
"That's not fair," she moaned. "You know I can't shoot them in sequence."  
  
"I know," he laughed as he sat the diamond shaped rack on the green felt and filled it with the first nine numbered balls. "I'll let you break though," he offered.  
  
"Oh geez thanks, like that's going to make a difference." She rolled her eyes and Jason's smile grew wider. For her it would be worth losing just to see him smiling. She had decided to forego asking him about his conversation with Sonny. Something told her it was just a rehash of the same old worn out arguments.  
  
"Saved by the bell," she said as the phone on the desk began to ring. They were just about to start their fifth game and surely her fifth loss.  
  
"Hello?" Jason said into the receiver. "That's great. Yeah I'd like to come check them out. Now would be good. We'll be there shortly."  
  
"Be where shortly?" she questioned.  
  
"The Harley Shop."  
  
"Harley Shop?"  
  
"Yeah I thought you might like to help pick out the motorcycle you see the wind from."  
  
Elizabeth's eyes lit up with excitement. Just the thought of being on the back of a motorcycle with Jason again had her pulse racing. They both could use a little of going no where – FAST!  
  
"I'll take that giggle as a yes?"  
  
"YES...yes!! Let's go." 


	35. No Where Fast

Second Chances: No Where Fast  
  
Jason slid the cumbersome black SUV into a spot in front of the Harley Shop. He'd be so happy to be on a motorcycle again no longer encased in the confines of an automobile.  
  
"You ready?" He turned and asked Elizabeth whose eyes were riveted on the row of motorcycles lining the sidewalk in front of the shop.  
  
"Uh-huh." She nodded as her lips quickly curved upward.  
  
"Let's go then." Jason laughed as he held the door open for her. He had almost forgotten that she loved riding nearly as much as he did.  
  
"Oh my god," she gasped at the hundreds of motorcycles that covered the showroom floor. "I never imagined there'd be so many. Look at all the colors Jason," she said admiring the almost rainbow effect she saw before her.  
  
"You want pink you get your own bike," he joked as she rested her hand on a gas tank covered in magenta metallic paint.  
  
"It's not pink – my own bike?" she questioned the thoughts of color getting lost in the idea of a motorcycle all her own.  
  
"If you want."  
  
"I always thought you said I couldn't handle a bike on my own," she questioned him coyly. "Was that just your way of keeping me on yours?"  
  
"No, what I said was you couldn't handle my bike," he corrected. "And the thought of keeping your arms wrapped around me had crossed my mind." Jason pulled her body into his securing his arms around her as he rested his chin on her shoulder.  
  
"Ah Mr. Morgan," the man said clearing his throat. "So glad you could find the time to come to the showroom. As you can see we have a great selection of the latest models."  
  
Jason dropped his arms from around Elizabeth's waist and laced his fingers through hers as they followed the salesman and began to wind their way through the maze of motorcycles.  
  
Elizabeth watched and listened as Jason surveyed each machine asking question after question about most things she knew little to nothing about. "I'd like one with a cover to protect the chain," Jason said to the man in the gray suit.  
  
"That's an unusual request. It would make maintenance rather difficult." The older man gave him a rather odd stare.  
  
"Unusual yes, but it's what I want. Do you have anything that fits my needs?" Jason wasn't about to take any chances this time around. He wanted to be sure that no one would be able to tamper with the master link and cause another accident while he had Elizabeth on the back of the bike.  
  
"Well honestly I'm not sure. I don't believe that anyone has ever asked for such an option. I will have to look into that."  
  
"Then do it."  
  
"I'll be right back."  
  
"So which one do you like?" Jason turned to her.  
  
"There's so many how am I supposed to choose? Besides I don't even know what I am looking at. I couldn't even begin to pick. And really as long as you are driving I don't much care about anything else," she purred slipping her hands inside his leather jacket. The sensation of her touch through his thin black tee shirt made every nerve in his body sing.  
  
"Color preference?" he asked.  
  
Elizabeth cocked her brow as she began moving through the rows of bikes pointing out one color after another. First the magenta that he had vetoed right off the bat, then a teal blue with a pearl white inset. Next she moved on to a deep metallic purple with bright yellow flames shooting across the sides of the bike. Jason covered his mouth and stifled as chuckle as she continued her journey. She pointed out an array of greens, blues, oranges, reds and a few colors Jason wasn't even sure what they were called. When she finally stopped at the Harley covered in the black cherry lacquer Jason began to smile.  
  
"You like?" she questioned.  
  
He did in fact like the color. It was close enough in resemblance to his signature color black but in the right light it gave off a deep cherry red tone. "Yeah, yeah I do." He moved closer bending down to inspect the intricacies of the motor and gears. He liked the craftsmanship he saw. Jason leaned the bike off its stand and swung his jean-clad leg over the side and sat down. It felt so good to be on a motorcycle again even if it was only sitting in the showroom. "Hop on," he said to her.  
  
"Right here?"  
  
"Yeah, right here."  
  
Elizabeth laughed but did exactly as he instructed. Easily she slid into position behind him. She let her body rest against Jason's back and tightly her arms encircled his torso.  
  
"So what do you think?" He looked at her over his shoulder.  
  
"I can't wait to see the wind!" She grinned with anticipation.  
  
"Have you found one you like Mr. Morgan?"  
  
"I think we have. What about that special option that I requested?" he asked in serious tone.  
  
"Unfortunately sir, that's not a factory option. However our head mechanic said that he certainly could fabricate a piece to meet your specific needs. It would just take a few days."  
  
Jason watched Elizabeth's smile fade and her features fall. His own shoulders dipped a little. They both hadn't realized how much they had been wanting – needing a ride that night until the idea of not taking one hit them.  
  
"Fine, but I'll be taking the bike tonight. I'll have it brought in tomorrow to have your mechanic install the chain cover." Elizabeth tightened her grip around his waist thankful that they would still be seeing the wind that evening.  
  
"Well if you will just follow me into my office we can start the paper work and have you and your lovely lady on your way."  
  
"That won't be necessary. Have the papers drawn up and sent to my office." He handed the man a business card with the Corinthos-Morgan Coffee logo at the top.  
  
"Yes, Mr. Morgan. I will have those papers to you by morning." The man said as Jason slipped several large bills in his hand.  
  
"I'm sure that will cover me taking the bike tonight," Jason remarked.  
  
"Certainly," the salesman agreed. "Will there be anything else, Mr. Morgan?" The older gentleman finally made the connection. He finally understood whom exactly it was standing in his showroom.  
  
"Helmets. We need helmets."  
  
"We have a large selection in the display case in the corner." He pointed across the room.  
  
"Black for me will be fine," Jason said having done enough shopping, even if it was for a motorcycle shopping wasn't his forte. "Elizabeth?"  
  
"Black's fine with me too." She was eager to go for their ride and the color of her helmet made little if any difference.  
  
"See if these fit you correctly." The salesman handed each of them a helmet.  
  
"Yeah," Jason said.  
  
"Perfect," Elizabeth agreed.  
  
Elizabeth fidgeted in anticipation as Jason placed a call to Max so that the SUV they had driven over in could be picked up and returned to the garage at Harbor View Towers. She stared out the large plate glass window her eyes focused on Jason's new motorcycle. The chrome shone to perfection and the sun's rays reflected off of the metallic flecks hidden within the rich hue of the dark finish.  
  
"You ready?" Jason whispered in her ear startling her.  
  
"You bet."  
  
She pushed open the swinging door and walked over to where the bike sat. They both fastened the chinstraps on their helmets. Elizabeth waited as Jason mounted the large Harley first. Every muscle in her body was taut waiting her turn to climb on.  
  
"Well?" Jason prompted her to join him.  
  
Effortlessly she melted into her position behind Jason. Their bodies molded into a single form. Elizabeth let out a squeal of delight as he revved the bike's engine. The sound of the rumbling exhaust was a sweet melody to Jason's ears. He was home. The first bike he had ever purchased he used as a way to separate himself from the Quartermaines. It had given him his freedom yet somehow this new machine was even more freeing. He couldn't explain it but loving Elizabeth made him feel free. When he was with her he didn't feel the oppressing expectations that others held for him. With Elizabeth there wasn't a need to be in constant motion. The quiet moments that they shared brought him a peace that he never thought he deserved. He turned his head to look at her.  
  
"What?" she said with a slight laugh.  
  
"I love you Elizabeth Webber," he said taking off letting the roar of the motorcycle swallow her reply.  
  
Elizabeth relaxed letting her body become one with Jason's. She leaned into each curve like he had taught her to so many years before. She closed her eyes and recalled all of the rides he had given her back then. Those were the only times when she felt completely alive during one of the most difficult times in her life. Those were the only times when she didn't have to pretend to be something she wasn't for everyone else. She treasured those memories each time Jason had left Port Charles for one reason or another and would anxiously await his return hoping that every thunderous roar she heard in the distance would be him ready to take her away to see the wind. She tightened her grasp around his midsection as he quickened the pace. Oh how she loved going fast and Jason never disappointed in giving her that rush of adrenaline.  
  
When Jason turned onto the old winding dirt road Elizabeth knew exactly where they were headed. She smiled. She loved that bridge. What she loved even more though was that Jason had shared something special to him with her all those years ago. Somehow over the time they had known one another the bridge had become less his and Robin's place and more theirs. It was funny how first loves lead the way to true love.  
  
Jason brought the motorcycle to a halt at the edge of the stone bridge. He shut down the engine and the pair sat silently for a moment taking in the scenery. The calm filtered through the both of them. Elizabeth was the first to break and hopped off the back of the bike. Peeling the helmet from her head she shook out her ruddy mane letting it fall against her shoulders in an unkempt mass of curls. Jason who was now standing along side of her reached over and ran his fingers through her hair. She shivered at that even slight touch.  
  
Taking her small hand in his much larger one Jason led her across the bridge. "Where are we going?" she asked curiously.  
  
"You'll see," Jason answered mysteriously.  
  
Elizabeth shot him a quizzical glance. Mystery and Jason Morgan barely if ever occupied the same sentence. They continued walking and just as they were about to crest the hillside she gasped at the sight she saw. There before them was a red and white gingham blanket spread over the grass with a large wicker picnic basket sitting on top of it. "How – how did you do this?" she asked more than a little shocked.  
  
"I had a little help, Max..."  
  
"So that's why you were on the phone for so long," she interrupted him.  
  
"Yeah," Jason blushed. Again Elizabeth stared at him in awe. Jason Morgan never blushed or got embarrassed.  
  
"I can't believe you did all of this," Elizabeth said when she peeked inside of the basket.  
  
"You don't like it?" Jason wondered out loud. "I just thought we could use some time where we couldn't be constantly interrupted." As of late it seemed as though the penthouse had become grand central people waltzing in and out at their leisure with no regard for the individuals that actually lived there.  
  
"Jason, I love it!" she cooed placing herself in his lap bringing her lips softly against his. He savored her sweet taste and let out a contented sigh. "So what did Max bring us? I'm starving," she stated as she lifted the lid of the picnic basket. Inside were several bottles of Jason's favorite beer, sandwiches from Kelly's and a few other munchies that had been thrown in for good measure. Elizabeth emptied the contents and spread them across the blanket. "Thank you," she said softly. "Thank you for making me feel normal."  
  
"You are normal," Jason laughed as he picked up the sandwich she put in front of him.  
  
"You know what I mean. This, a picnic, is something normal people do. People who don't have psycho ex-husbands. People who don't live with body guards shadowing their every move," she sighed.  
  
Jason pulled back and stared at her for a long time. It broke his heart to see the strain of everything etched on her beautiful face. All he wanted to do was keep her safe and make her happy. All he wanted to do was love her. "I'm sorry," he whispered as he moved closer to where she sat. "I'm sorry that everything is so out of control. I'm sorry that you feel trapped by Max and the other guards...."  
  
"Sshh." Elizabeth placed her hand against his mouth to silence him. "Don't – don't apologize. We have to stop doing this. We have to stop trying to fix everything for one another. We just need to live in the moment. Jason we need to sing like no one's listening, dance like no one is watching, live each day loving each other as though it might be our last."  
  
"In my world it very well could be," Jason said more sarcastically than he had intended for it to sound.  
  
"Stop that! We aren't given any guarantees in life Jason. I could step off the curb tomorrow and get hit by a bus."  
  
"Highly unlikely," he retorted.  
  
"Jason when our time is up it's up and I would hate to have spent my entire life missing out on loving you because I was afraid to step into the circle of your world – your life."  
  
"I don't know if I could survive losing you," he said honestly clutching her tightly. She had been put in danger so many times in the past just because of him. It was difficult for Jason to let his own selfish needs – his need for Elizabeth to be part of his life put her in constant peril.  
  
"Welcome to my world. That's how I feel every time you walk out the door to attend to business. But no matter where I was I would feel that way. As much as we have tried to deny our feelings in the past some irresistible force always brings us back to one another. I know Jason I am where I am meant to be. I am meant to be here in your arms loving you." She again kissed him gently as a way of reassuring him. "I'm where I want to be Jason."  
  
"So am I," he agreed. Jason let his eyes fall shut as he digested the truth in her words. They was no denying that they belonged together. He felt complete when she was a part of his life.  
  
The rest of the evening was spent in quiet conversations and playful banter. Both of them were enjoying a little relief from the circumstances of their lives. It wasn't until the sky began to darken with ominous clouds rolling in quickly overhead and lightening crackled above them that they even considered heading home.  
  
Elizabeth looked back at the spot they had just vacated searing the memory in her mind. Something told her that this might be the last normal day they had for a while. 


	36. Calm Before the Storm

Second Chances: Calm Before the Storm  
  
Jason sat at his desk and listened to the music that made its way down the stairs. He could hear Elizabeth's voice singing along with some song he didn't recognize. Not that he was much for music or anything even remotely artistic for the matter, but he loved listening to the sound of her voice. He loved the way it filled the empty spaces of the penthouse. Before her the world he lived in was deafeningly silent and he hadn't ever thought to question it. But now he couldn't imagine returning to the life of silence – returning to a life without Elizabeth in it.  
  
Jason sunk deep into the high back leather chair letting out a heavy sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Over the last week or so things were quiet almost too quiet for his liking. No shipments had been tampered with or lost. No signs of any violent strikes against Sonny or his territory – nothing. It was like the day Sonny had Faith Roscoe picked up life, as they once knew it returned to normal. Jason had begun to question himself. Could Sonny really have been right? Could it have been Faith all along? Some part of Jason knew it made sense. Faith wasn't shy about wanting Sonny's territory. She practically had shouted her intentions from the rooftops. And she wasn't the first adversary that had gone through him to get to Sonny. Those in the underworld knew the best way to dismantle the Corinthos Empire was through Sonny's right hand Jason Morgan. Yet something about it all just didn't sit right with Jason. Too many of the things that happened had been so unlike Faith. Too many of the things that had taken place were far too personally tied to Elizabeth; the shredded divorce papers; the magical return of all things that represented her marriage to Ric to her studio; her missing red glass. Faith wouldn't have done any of those things. It was obvious to even the dumbest of men that Faith Roscoe for whatever reason wanted Ric Lansing and all of those things that had happened were more about keeping Ric and Elizabeth together not tearing them apart. For him the quiet they were experiencing at the moment was nothing more than a mere coincidence.  
  
"Hey." Elizabeth slipped her hands over his shoulders and down his chest. The soft touch startled him momentarily and aroused him as well. She leaned forward placing her warm lips against his. She squealed when Jason pulled her onto his lap. With a childlike grin on her face Elizabeth stared at him. She never in her life expected to be this happy. All the years spent dancing around one another and their feelings had all been worth if this is where it was all meant to lead them.  
  
Jason ran the back of his hand against her milky white cheek. He felt the ached in his groin grow. He let his fingers trail their way to her collarbone and grinned mischievously when he saw her catch her bottom lip between her teeth. With little effort he began undoing the pearl buttons of her cardigan one by one. The intensity of his stare made Elizabeth's flesh grow warm. The loud rapping on the door disturbed them.  
  
"Go away!" Jason announced as he continued to slip the cream colored material off of Elizabeth's shoulders.  
  
"Jason, it's Carly. Is Elizabeth ready?" That statement immediately stopped his movements. "Jason?" Carly said through the closed door.  
  
Elizabeth leaned forward giving him a clear view of her ample cleavage peaking out from under her lacy bra. "Tell her I just got out of the shower," she whispered letting her tongue playfully dance around his ear.  
  
"Jason?" Carly wasn't about to give up.  
  
"She just got out of the shower."  
  
"Well, tell her I'll be waiting when she's ready to go to Wyndams."  
  
"Wyndams?" he turned mouthing silently at Elizabeth. "Okay," he said to the woman on the other side of the door.  
  
Elizabeth began pulling her sweater over her shoulders. "Whoa...weren't we just about to begin something?" Jason was having trouble disguising his disappointment.  
  
"Apparently," Elizabeth laughed as she laid her hand on his enlarged groin. Even that very slight pressure caused Jason to moan. "You know Carly though. She'll be back at the door in ten minutes." Elizabeth removed herself from his lap as she adjusted her clothing.  
  
"You're going to Wyndams with her?" Jason questioned a combination of surprise and curiosity filling his voice.  
  
"Don't look so shocked." Elizabeth tried not to laugh. She could only imagine what he was thinking.  
  
"Shocked – well I was just about to take both of your temperatures. Who are you and what have you done with Elizabeth?"  
  
"Carly's making an effort so, so am I."  
  
Jason basically just sat there dumbfounded. He was sure that Rod Serling would be walking out of his closet at any moment announcing that they were all part of a bad Twilight Zone episode.  
  
"I think she and I have come to an understanding."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah, I think we both see a little of ourselves in the other."  
  
"Excuse me?" Jason asked his astonishment evident. That statement almost made him laugh. Carly would never admit she was anything like Elizabeth – not the Carly he knew anyway.  
  
"That surprises you?"  
  
"Damn right it does."  
  
"Jason, watching Carly and Sonny together at the hospital the other day – well it was just like watching us. I saw myself when I looked at her. Sonny is everything to her. It was like the minute he walked into the room everything in her world was right again. I know how that feels Jason because that's how I feel the minute I see you. Even if it's from across the room. Your presence it does something to me. It completes me. It's the same for Carly with Sonny. And well I guess I just get her a little better."  
  
"Okay I can sort of understand you identifying with Carly, but really Elizabeth, Carly seeing herself in you. Even you have to find that rather odd."  
  
"Yeah I did. But I think when I told her that you could have killed Ric and it wouldn't have mattered to me. That it wouldn't change how I felt about you. She wanted me to run away from you so she could prove to you again just how wrong I was for you, but when I didn't run something changed. I don't think it hurt that I was there when she went into labor. I mean Max and Johnny were pretty much useless." Elizabeth laughed recalling how the guards stood frozen when she had told them that Carly was in labor.  
  
Jason just stared at her unable to wrap his head around the idea that Carly and Elizabeth could be friends. He had resigned himself to understanding that justifying his love for Elizabeth would be a continual battle. He was relieved that maybe now it wouldn't be so much of an issue.  
  
"I better get going."  
  
Elizabeth reached for her purse just as Jason pulled her to his chest. "So when will we get to finish what we started here?" he asked his hot breath bathing her creamy neck.  
  
"Jason is Elizabeth ready yet?" Carly's voice accompanied her knocking.  
  
"URGH!!!!!!!!" Jason growled.  
  
"I told you," Elizabeth giggled. "Tonight – I promise I am all yours tonight."  
  
"I'm holding you to that promise," he said as she blew him a kiss before heading out the door.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Elizabeth and Carly milled through the racks of baby clothes that filled nearly an entire floor of Wyndams. Each cooing and cawing over the tiny pink and blue items.  
  
"So do you know if the baby's a boy or a girl?" Elizabeth asked eyeing the cutest set of pink coveralls she had ever seen.  
  
"Sonny didn't want to know, but I'm sure it's a boy," Carly said matter of fact.  
  
"Then I guess these are out." Elizabeth laughed as she held up the coveralls and matching booties.  
  
"Oh that's adorable," Carly said with a wide smile. "So you and Jase," Carly began nonchalantly as she continued eyeing the outfits before her. "this morning – did I interrupt something?" She gave Elizabeth a coy smile.  
  
"No..."  
  
"Don't give me that you were in the shower line. I didn't buy it then and I'm not going to buy it now," Carly snorted as she cut Elizabeth off in mid sentence.  
  
Elizabeth was caught off guard. She wasn't accustomed to the candor she was now facing from Carly. Normally the pair of women were embroiled in one argument after the next when it came to Jason. It was odd to say the least for them to be standing there joking about a Jason's relationship with Elizabeth much less what Carly had thought she caught them in the middle of.  
  
"Cat got your tongue?" Carly asked using one of Elizabeth's favorite lines.  
  
"No." She felt the blush move across her face as she tried to hide her smile from the all knowing Carly.  
  
"Could have fooled me," Carly chuckled.  
  
"Can we please talk about something else?"  
  
"Okay so the subject of your and Jason's sex life....."  
  
"CARLY!" Elizabeth gasped as her face now turned crimson as she tried not to look in the direction of where both Johnny and Max were standing near by.  
  
"Okay...okay. It's officially dropped – for now," Carly added under her breath.  
  
The women continued their way around the department filling Carly's basket until it was almost overflowing. Elizabeth stopped at a rack of small stuffed animals. Her eyes were drawn to a small white teddy bear perched toward the front of the heap of brightly colored toys. Even though she knew it wasn't the one that Ric had given her for their unborn baby it was so similar that she found herself picking it up and staring hard at it. Elizabeth pressed her lids closed in a vain effort to stop her tears.  
  
"Elizabeth?" Carly came up from behind her and rested her hand gently on the younger woman's shoulder. "What's wrong? Are you all right?"  
  
Elizabeth nodded her head as she wiped away a stray tear that had made its way passed her thick lashes. "I'm fine," she lied as she placed the bear back in amongst the other animals.  
  
Carly wasn't at all convinced. "I'm sorry. It was stupid of me to ask you to go baby shopping." Carly shook her head scolding herself for not thinking.  
  
"No it wasn't. I wanted to come. I just didn't realize that it would still hurt this much."  
  
"I still miss the baby Sonny and I lost," Carly said softly. "The ache dulls, really it does. But it's not something that ever completely goes away."  
  
Elizabeth remembered that day she found Sonny crying in the emergency room of GH. How he sobbed as she held him. How he mourned for a child he hadn't even gotten to know yet. "I loved that baby from the minute Dr. Meadows told me I was going to be a mom."  
  
"I know," Carly said lovingly holding her swollen belly.  
  
"But I don't know what to do with these feelings."  
  
"What feelings?" Carly gave her a puzzled look.  
  
"Guilt."  
  
"Guilt?"  
  
"Yes, while I loved my baby there's a part of me that is glad that he or she will never be born. That he or she won't have to ever know what kind of a monster their father could be. I hate myself for that, Carly."  
  
"Don't – don't do that. Don't beat yourself up for how you feel. There's nothing wrong with what you are feeling."  
  
Elizabeth smiled slightly thinking how Jason like that statement was. "In my head I know that the timing for a baby was wrong and most definitely the man was all wrong but I wanted to be a mom."  
  
"I'm sure that Jason could help you in that department," Carly grinned playfully pushing Elizabeth.  
  
Elizabeth let out a child like giggle blushing again. It was funny how quickly relationships could turn on a time. Hers and Jason's and now hers with Carly. She decided not to question it but rather to just enjoy what was happening.  
  
"So you think we have enough?" Elizabeth asked as she gestured toward the ever expanding pile of baby items falling over the sides of Carly's basket.  
  
"Yeah and besides that I am starved. I say we go to Kelly's and pig out on junk food. Not a word to Sonny!" Carly said turning around and pointing her finger in Johnny's direction.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jason had decided to come into the office at the warehouse when Elizabeth had left for her shopping spree with Carly. The penthouse was too quiet without her presence. He sat at his desk going over a few files that Meyer had had delivered. It was mostly shipment records and inventory statements for their legitimate holdings. They had been able to recoup the losses that that has sustained from the earlier mishaps.  
  
Jason rested his head against the back of his chair. His mind still swam with thoughts of both Ric and Faith and how convenient it was that all was quiet with Faith out of the picture. He didn't like it not even a little bit. All of his senses still were on alert waiting for what was coming next. "Come in," he said to the knock at the door. He looked up and was shocked to see Sonny entering his office – even more shocked that he had actually knocked, something he hadn't been doing as of late.  
  
"How are the books?" Sonny finally asked after a few moments of strained silence between them.  
  
"Good. We are back on track after those couple of losses," Jason answered.  
  
"Good."  
  
"Did you want something?" Jason questioned as Sonny stood before him.  
  
"I wanted to talk to you about Faith. I wanted to see if you were finally satisfied that it was her causing our troubles all along."  
  
Jason sighed heavily. Not again, he thought.  
  
"Well?" Sonny prodded looking for only the answer he wanted.  
  
"No, I'm not."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Sure things are quiet now but that doesn't mean it was Faith."  
  
"The hell it doesn't!" Sonny's voice boomed. "There hasn't been one single incident since the day I had her picked up and brought to the safe house."  
  
"That's not enough for me Sonny. Not when it's Elizabeth's life at stake. It's not nearly enough."  
  
"What's wrong with you, man?"  
  
"I could ask you the same question," Jason countered. "You're so blinded by what you want to see that you can't even give way to the possibility of anything else."  
  
"No Jason that's you!"  
  
"Maybe," Jason conceded a bit, "but I have to go with my gut. And it's screaming that this isn't over." He decided against again bringing up Ric. Jason knew that Sonny wasn't going to ever come around to his way of thinking and he hadn't wanted to endure another unwinable argument. "Are we finished here? I have some calls that I need to make," Jason said almost as if he were dismissing an underling.  
  
Sonny walked out the door closing it harshly behind him clearly showing those working in the warehouse the ever growing rift between mob boss and enforcer.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Elizabeth got up from the table and headed to the counter to pay Penny for her and Carly's checks. If Sonny had seen all of what Carly had just consumed he would have keeled over from a cholesterol induced coronary, but Carly was happy as she cleaned the remnants of hot fudge from the bottom of her sundae glass.  
  
"Happy or would you like another?" Elizabeth joked.  
  
"Happy – very happy!" Carly said patting her belly.  
  
"Glad to hear it and just for the record if questioned by Sonny, I will say you twisted my arm when it came to all this unauthorized junk food."  
  
"You ladies ready to head home?" Max asked as he approached the pair.  
  
"Not really – that is unless you need to get back to your hanky panky with Jason," Carly said turning her attention to Elizabeth.  
  
"Carly," the tiny brunette gave her warning look.  
  
"Want to take a walk around the docks. Admittedly I think I need to work off a little bit of this food."  
  
"Are you feeling okay?" Elizabeth asked taking notice of Carly's discomfort.  
  
"Yes, yes I am fine – stuffed but fine, really."  
  
"Okay a walk on the docks it is." Elizabeth agreed as Max and Johnny followed behind.  
  
It wasn't until they had made it half way down the stairs leading to the docks that the sound of sirens filled the air.  
  
"What's going on?" Elizabeth asked bounding down the stairs at a much quicker pace than Carly was able. She stopped dead in her tracks. In the distance she could see smoke and flames licking the clouds that hung low in the sky.  
  
"Eliz –"Carly's voice dropped as her eyes rested on the same sight. The Corinthos- Morgan Coffee warehouse was on fire. 


	37. The Fire

Second Chances: The Fire  
  
The fierce heat assaulted Jason the second the door to his office swung open. The warehouse foreman stood before him coughing as a thick black haze filtered into the small room.  
  
"What the hell's going on?" Jason questioned quickly covering his mouth and nose before the smoke had time to attack him.  
  
"The warehouse – it's on fire," the older gentleman eked out a raspy breath.  
  
Jason looked passed the man's slumped shoulder and saw the workers scrambling and shouting at one another. The expansive warehouse floor was already consumed by a noxious cloud and nearly everywhere Jason looked was filled with flames – bright orange and red flames. "Damn!" He ran his hand over his face realizing he needed a course of action. It was already clear to him that panic was taking hold of the men in his and Sonny's employ. He pulled on his leather jacket knowing it would offer him a little protection from the flames. "Come on!" he shouted at the foreman.  
  
Jason literally drug the man to the nearest exit only to find it engulfed in flames. He felt his way along the wall reaching for where he knew the next exit would be. Jason focused his energy on moving forward. The dense smoke stung his eyes and left him feeling as if he were being strangled. Finally they reached another exit only to find it too ablaze.  
  
"Jason....Jason!" A voice called to him through the thick black smoke. "Jason!" Jason squinted and then saw Francis' image through the murky fog. "The exits," Francis gasped, "all of them of blocked by the fire." The guard rested his hand on the enforcer's shoulder trying to catch his breath.  
  
Through watery eyes Jason made his best attempt to pick out the exits stationed around the warehouse. He felt his chest constrict with every smoke filled breath he took. Just as Francis said each and every one of them was inundated by flames. "Where's Sonny?" Jason yelled as the roar of the fire thundered around them.  
  
"I thought he was with you," Francis answered.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The smoke continued billowing high into the sky as Elizabeth and Carly stood fixed in place any words that they might have wanted to say swallowed by their fear. Both women looked wide eyed at the surreal situation taking place before them.  
  
"Holy shit!" Max announced when his eyes too laid on the sight that held the women captive. "Johnny!" he shouted. "Call 911!"  
  
Carly reached out and took Elizabeth by the arm forcing the younger woman to break her concentrated stare and look at her. Elizabeth's bright blue eyes gazed back at Carly in terror. It was as if they had been thrown back in time to the Valentine's day fire at that very same warehouse.  
  
"Fireman and paramedics are on their way," Johnny said as he joined them.  
  
The word paramedics echoed in Elizabeth's ears as she returned her own tight grip on Carly's arm as if that would somehow make what was going on around them disappear. However the trails of smoke reaching high into the sky and the distant sounds of the fire trucks told a different tale.  
  
She watched as one by one the gleaming red trucks rolled to a stop on the docks in front of Sonny and Jason's warehouse. That was the first time she had allowed herself to even think about Jason. Every muscle in her body tightened and all of the sudden she found it hard to breathe. Jason – Jason was inside that building. She could feel it. Wildly her eyes darted to the commotion just beyond where she stood. It was so surreal for her to be standing there watching yet another fire. How many times did she have to live through this? First Lucky and the fire at Jason's bike shop. There was Jason's name again bantering in her brain. She shook her head trying to not let herself think about him being trapped somewhere in the building now fully engulf by flames. Elizabeth pressed her lips together and swallowed the sob that was about to escape yet somehow the tears found their way to her cheeks just the same.  
  
If it hadn't been for Jason she would have never survived the year after Lucky's presumed death. Jason had been her life line. He had allowed her to just be – something that no one else seemed to know how to do. She dropped her hand from Carly's arm and wrapped her arms around her chest eyes fixated on the fire. Even if she closed them she couldn't escape the sounds that the raging inferno made or the distance shouts of the firemen as they went to work at putting out the blaze. But on the dark canvas of her closed eyes she saw another fire. She had watched Jason run into the burning building on Valentine's Day to save his best friend. She could see Carly crying hysterically on the docks when the fire chief told her the building was too unstable for the search for Sonny and Jason to continue. Elizabeth remembered how she couldn't leave until she knew that they had made it out of the building. No matter how much Lucky pushed her to go she just couldn't. She should have known then how much she loved Jason. To have had such a strong reaction to the event, but still when he emerged from the building she hadn't gone to him like her heart had been screaming for her to do. Even as Jason tumbled to his knees and their matching blue eyes locked Elizabeth let Lucky lead her away. What if this time she didn't get the run into his arms like she should have done then?  
  
Elizabeth's shoulders began to shake as she could no longer hold back her cries. They had wasted so much time. They had danced around one another for so long worrying about other people and outside forces that neither had any control over. She couldn't lose him now – not when they had just gotten what they both had so desperately wanted. They hadn't had enough time. "We haven't had enough time," Elizabeth whispered. Just then there was a loud crash as part of the warehouse's roof collapsed. "NO!!" Elizabeth screamed and bolted towards the burning building.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"SONNY...SONNY!" Jason yelled as he literally crawled through the flaming debris around him. "SONNY!" He kept his mind focused on where he was going and what needed to be done. That's how Jason Morgan got through some of the most difficult times in his life. He didn't think – he just reacted. However now that wasn't an easy task. He found himself indeed thinking – thinking about Elizabeth and what it would do to her if he didn't make it out of that building. He could deal with his own demise. Jason wasn't afraid of dying. He couldn't be and do the work that he did for Sonny but he knew what his dying would do to Elizabeth. He couldn't handle that thought so he pushed on in his search for Sonny.  
  
Finally Jason made his way up the stairs to the second floor where Sonny's office was. He had hoped that his boss had gone there to cool off from their latest argument – which for Jason had been long forgotten now. No matter what his feelings were for how Sonny was handling the whole Ric/Faith mess he wasn't about to let him burn to death. The idea of Michael and the baby Carly was carrying growing up without a father wasn't acceptable to Jason – especially not after everything they had been through already.  
  
Jason found the door to Sonny's office anxious to find him he turned the knob without thinking. The hot metal seared his hand. "Damn!" He pulled his hand up into the sleeve of his leather jacket ignoring the pain and again reached for the knob. The room was empty. "SONNY!" Jason's voice even though he was screaming sounded like a whisper against the roar of the fire. "SONNY!" He continued down the corridor to where there were several more cubicles. "Sonny," he said relieved when he finally saw a figure through the smoke he knew to be his friend.  
  
"Jason," Sonny coughed.  
  
"We have to get the hell out of here," Jason said stating the obvious. It was then that he noticed the young woman crouched in the corner. Her dirty face was tear stained yet her eyes were fixated straight ahead. She didn't even blink. He found it funny that he didn't even know this woman's name only that she was the foreman's secretary.  
  
"She's been like this since I found her," Sonny said. "I can't get her to move."  
  
"We can't stay here, Sonny," Jason said anxiously looking around as the black smoke grew thicker. He looked up as the beams above them began to creak and crack. "Look out!" he screamed as he leapt toward Sonny and the woman.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Elizabeth was on a full tilt run toward the warehouse. The air was filled with flying debris but she didn't care. She had only a single thought on her mind. She had to get to Jason. She had to find him even she died trying. It would be better than living without him.  
  
"Elizabeth," Max said grabbing her by the waist before she had even made it a quarter of the way to her destination. "Elizabeth!" he yelled again as she struggled beneath his grasp.  
  
"Max... Max," she gasped fully consumed by sobs now. "I have to find him. I have to find Jason!" Her tone was high pitched and frenzied. "He can't die. I can't let him die. He'd want me to find him. Let me go – LET ME GO MAX! Jason would want me to find him," she said again through her strangled cries.  
  
"He'd want you to be safe," Carly said from behind them.  
  
"I don't want to be safe! I don't want to live my life without him! We've already lost so much time, Carly." Elizabeth sobbed.  
  
"I know." Carly nodded to Max and he dropped his grip on the tiny brunette. "But you know that your safety has always been what Jason has wanted. He couldn't live with himself if anything were to happen to you because of him." Carly rested her arm around Elizabeth's slender shoulders.  
  
"What if he doesn't live at all?" Elizabeth said her voice barely a whisper as her eyes were again fixed on the burning structure in front of them.  
  
Carly tightened her grip on Elizabeth as her own fears began getting the better of her as well. She knew that Sonny had gone to the warehouse to see Jason that day and just like Elizabeth the man she loved was trapped in that building. However Carly knew she couldn't fall apart. She knew that for once in her life she needed to be strong for someone else. It amazed her that that someone was Elizabeth Webber but looking at the younger woman crying in her arms she couldn't imagine not doing it.  
  
Johnny and Max had moved their charges to the outskirts of the fire. They too were worried about their boss and friend. The men stood protectively behind Elizabeth and Carly as they held one another silent tears making their way down both of their faces.  
  
"We can't get up to the second floor where the roof fell in sir," one of the fire fighters said to the chief. "It looks like that floor is about to give way any minute."  
  
"NO!" Elizabeth shouted as the men continued to talk. "NO! They're still in there. Sonny and Jason are still in there!" She turned to Max eyes imploring him to do something. "Jason and Sonny are still in there!"  
  
Max and Johnny looked at one another not knowing what to do. Part of them wanted to run into the building themselves and search for them but all of their training told them that they couldn't leave Elizabeth and Carly standing alone on the docks.  
  
"Max...please!" Elizabeth pleaded.  
  
Before Max could offer an answer Carly spoke, "Elizabeth look!" She glanced back at the burning building as Jason emerged with Sonny and another person cradled under each arm.  
  
Without a moments hesitation she broke away from Carly's arms and flew through the crowd to where he was being attended to by the paramedics. All she could see were his ice blue orbs encased in a thick black film that covered his face but it was his beautiful eyes that told her all she needed to know.  
  
Quickly he removed the oxygen mask that was covering his nose and mouth and his lips found their way to hers. He wrapped his tired arms around her as tight as he could. He felt her relax into his embrace. "I love you," she whispered into his ear as she began to cry all over again.  
  
"I love you too baby. I love you too."  
  
Elizabeth watched as the paramedics continued to attend to both Sonny and Jason. She couldn't bring herself to move away from him and Jason made it perfectly clear to all those around that he didn't want her to. She stood alongside of him as a young man bandaged Jason's burned hand. He had refused to go to the hospital not that she expected any different. Hospitals and Jason Morgan didn't quite mesh.  
  
After checking on Jason, Sonny and Carly headed toward his waiting limo that Francis and Johnny had gone to retrieve. Carly and Elizabeth hugged one another tightly thankful that both the men in their lives were safe and sound.  
  
"Would you like me to get the car?" Max asked Jason who was still holding Elizabeth against his chest.  
  
Jason looked down and at Elizabeth before answering. He read her expression and like him the last place he wanted to be was grand central known as the penthouse. "We'll be fine."  
  
Max watched as Jason and Elizabeth got up and climbed the stairs heading for the building -- to the room where it all began. 


	38. Voyeurism

Second Chances: Voyeurism  
  
Jason allowed himself to lean on Elizabeth as he had so many years ago as they made their way up the stairs and towards the building that held her studio. His mind raced back to all the times they had spent together. How their easy friendship had morphed into something that at the time neither could explain nor even acknowledge. Yet now it meant everything.  
  
Ric waited for Max to disappear around the corner before he stepped out of the shadow of the building that had been providing him cover. His eyes darted between the smoldering remains of Sonny's warehouse and the sight of Jason and Elizabeth's retreating form. He shook his head slightly as he watched as his wife kissed another man. He couldn't contain the rage that ripped through his very being. How – how – how was it even possible? Ric thought. Hadn't Jason Morgan already used up his nine lives? Ric wondered as he headed for the staircase.  
  
Jason leaned against the doorframe and let out a labored cough from deep within his lungs. He tried to cover the sensation of pain that radiated throughout his chest. However his hidden look was not lost on Elizabeth. "Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" she asked while turning the key in the dead bolt.  
  
Jason again was bombarded by an eerie sense of déjà vu at those words. When he had been shot she had done her best to persuade him to go to the hospital. He closed his eyes and let himself remember the months that he lived with her. Even through all the turmoil that he was dealing with then about Sonny, Carly and what they had done, Jason found himself smiling and enjoying the comfortable way they shared such a tiny space.  
  
"I'll be fine," he smiled and followed her inside.  
  
Elizabeth hadn't been at all surprised by his answer in fact had he actually said yes to her request that would have astonished her even more. She closed the door behind them as Jason walked over and let his tired body drop down on the small flea market sofa. She watched him close his eyes and let out heavy sigh as he rubbed his hands against his dirty face. An apple sized lump sat at the back of Elizabeth's throat. All she could think about was him being trapped in the burning building. The possibility of never seeing him again – never touching him – kissing him, all those things threatened to consume her. Dropping her purse on the art table to her left she joined him on the couch slipping her arms around him. "I thought I really lost you this time," she choked.  
  
"Never," Jason reassured her and brought his lips to the top of her head.  
  
They sat in silence as they both surveyed the room. Neither of them had been back to Elizabeth's studio since the day that they came there and found all of the items she had thrown away back in their original spots. Elizabeth hadn't wanted to give up her studio but she hadn't wanted to come back here until now. Something felt right about them being there. It was comforting to know Jason felt it also.  
  
"Are you sure you're all right?" she asked Jason again when he let out a harsh cough. Elizabeth laid her hand on his chest and felt its steady rise and fall. The tell tell beating of his heart was a welcome sensation as well.  
  
"Stop worrying about me." He drew her closer to him needing to feel Elizabeth's body against his own.  
  
"How am I supposed to do that?" she questioned suppressing the tears that hung in her deep blue eyes. "Seeing the fire, Jason. I knew you were in that building and I couldn't get to you. Max wouldn't let me go. I just wanted to find you. But all I could do was stand there and watch and wait," she gasped as images of the burning warehouse taunted her.  
  
"I'm sorry," he said agonizing over the fear he could hear in her voice. It seemed no matter how hard he tried there was very little he could do to shield her from the hazards of his life. "Maybe it would be easier if your weren't...."  
  
"Don't – don't say what I know you are going to," she said speaking over him. "Don't say that I would be better off not in your life. Don't say that it's too dangerous for us to be together. Please don't push me away," Elizabeth cried.  
  
Ric pressed his body against the unfinished drywall and listened to the muffled voices from within. While he wasn't able to make out the words he could certainly hear the desperation in Elizabeth's tone.  
  
Jason pulled back and stared intently into a pair of blue eyes matching his own. God how he loved her. He loved everything about her. How she rambled on when she was excited or nervous. How she bit her lower lip when she sketched or was upset. How she would shriek with delight when he would take the curves on his motorcycle fast and sharp. He loved how she loved him completely and unconditionally.  
  
"Jason, please say something," she said desperately.  
  
"I love you. All I have ever wanted for you was the life you deserve. I'm afraid that maybe you deserve more than what I can give you," he said honestly.  
  
Elizabeth reached for his hand and covered it with her small one. It seemed as though it always came back to this – her safety. He had been pushing her away for so long now that it most likely was second nature to him. While she understood it she wasn't about to accept it anymore now than she had then. "You are more than I deserve Jason."  
  
With that said she let her legs straddle his lap as she wiped away a stray tear that had found its way to Jason's cheek. Methodically using her thumbs Elizabeth rubbed away the dark smudges of soot streaked across Jason's face all the while never breaking their concentrated stare. She loved touching him. She loved the way his eyes fell closed with each stroke of her fingers against his skin.  
  
She allowed the tips of her digits to entangle themselves in the thick tufts of hair at the base of his neck suddenly filled with an intense desire to be one with him. Leaning hard against his chest she let her full body weight rest against him as she kissed him lightly through the thin cotton fabric of his shirt. Jason watched as she easily untucked it from the waistband of his jeans and slipped her hands underneath. The immediate sensation her touch brought to his body was electrifying. The slow burning in his loins grew with each caress of Elizabeth's hands.  
  
Jason pulled her mouth hard against his own at first savoring the sweet taste of her then deepening the kiss when his tongue probed her mouth seeking entry into its depths. Elizabeth easily complied with his yearnings as their tongues danced and dueled until either of them knew where one person ended and the other began.  
  
Elizabeth felt her breaths quicken when Jason eased his hand under her shirt. Effortlessly he glided his fingers over her supple skin drawing tiny concentric circles on her stomach. He watched as she drew her lower lip between her teeth. She suddenly had an urgent need to feel her skin against his and pulled her top over her head dropping it to the floor and then began tugging at Jason's suggesting that he do the same.  
  
She smiled as she stared at him. She loved the way his muscles gleamed under his tanned skin. Readily she traced each of them until Jason felt as if he was on fire. He reached up and undid the clasp that held her lace bra closed revealing her full breasts. Anxiously Elizabeth waited for him to touch her. It was if every nerve ending in her body was standing at attention in anticipation. Jason did not disappoint her. First he reached for one then the other rubbing his thumbs against her already hardened nipples. A low moan escaped from deep in her throat as he continued to fondle her. Involuntarily she felt her back arch begging him closer.  
  
Again he did not disappoint. He brought his mouth to encircle her breast suckling them until Elizabeth shuddered. "Oh god Jason," she moaned when he moved onto the other one. She raked her hands across his chest needing to feel him too.  
  
One by one the buttons of his jeans were undone exposing his engorged manhood beneath. Elizabeth teased him with her light touch knowing she had elicited the response she was looking for when she felt his breathing quicken against her skin. She smiled wickedly as she started pulling his jeans down around his hips. Before either of them knew it they were both naked by the others hands.  
  
For a moment Jason just stared at her. He couldn't remove his eyes from her spectacular form. She was so beautiful and he still couldn't believe that she was all his. That thought was unfathomable at times.  
  
Elizabeth found herself moving toward him again while he just watched her doing it. Taking his hardened member in her hands she stroked him rhythmically as her thumbs toyed with its most sensitive tip. She felt him shake as he reached for her for support.  
  
"I love you," he whispered as he lifted her from the ground. Elizabeth nuzzled his neck as she laced her legs around him allowing her most feminine spot to make contact with him. He felt how warm, how wet she was. That sensation only served to excite him further.  
  
Even that slight touch had Elizabeth aching for him. She began rubbing herself against him almost begging for them to become one. Each stroke of her soft wet flesh caused Jason to see stars. Oh how he wanted her.  
  
He turned and laid her against the soft fabric of the sofa and watched as her eyes gazed at him hungrily. She wanted him as badly as he did her but Jason wasn't quite ready to make love not without offering her the same pleasures that she had him.  
  
When the voices from inside the room quieted Ric moved closer until he was standing directly outside of the studio door. He finally heard soft moans from inside and he stood rooted in place as he watched through the window Jason caressing Elizabeth's naked body.  
  
Elizabeth licked her lips when Jason ran his hand along her body letting his fingers come to rest at the tuft of hair that lead to her most sensitive spot. Her eyes rolled back and her hips arched as Jason began messaging that very spot. Each circular motion caused her to grow wetter until finally she felt his fingers enter her. She cried out in pleasure as he plunged in and out time and time again.  
  
"I need you," she said in a hoarse voice. "I want you," she stressed guiding his hips toward her. Jason only smiled and continued with the business of pleasuring her. Elizabeth felt as if she was about to explode when Jason finally brought his male form deep with in her.  
  
She wrapped her legs around him forcing him further inside. He felt her muscles tighten around him as they became one form rather than two. Elizabeth dug her nails into the soft flesh of his back as their thrusts took on a feverish pace. She felt the rush of his release and held on to ride out the waves of her own.  
  
Jason rolled over allowing Elizabeth to rest against his chest. Both of their breathing was still uneven but it was starting to steady. He pushed away a few stray hairs that had fallen across her face. "I love you Elizabeth," he whispered.  
  
"I love you too," she said raising her head to look at him then nestled her body into the crook of his arm. "I love you too."  
  
Ric watched as the pair fell asleep. He couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. It couldn't be real. He couldn't have just watched his wife making love to Jason Morgan. Yet somewhere in the recesses of his brain he knew it to be true. Elizabeth, his Elizabeth, had had sex with another man. She had cheated on him. That was something he couldn't – wouldn't tolerate. "You both will pay. You both will pay!" he seethed pressing his hands against the glass window. 


	39. Moment of Clarity

Second Chances: Moment of Clarity  
  
Quietly Jason pulled on his jeans as he watched Elizabeth sleeping soundly on the sofa. He reached over and drew the thin cotton throw over her shoulders his fingers making contact with her alabaster skin. He saw the corners of her mouth curve and he too smiled. Kneeling down he gazed at her still unable to believe what he had done to deserve her. His mind was taken back to making love to her last night. Those images bombarded him so much so that he had difficulty resisting the urge to wake her up and do it all over again.  
  
Everything seemed so much simpler when they were in her studio. It had been that way after he had been shot. It was as though the rest of the world had fallen away leaving only he and she. He enjoyed that feeling. He relished the idea of it being just the two of them. As unlikely of a notion as it was, he still craved it. Gently Jason leaned in and brushed his lips against her cheek. He wanted to spend a little longer in the fantasy world they had created for themselves here in the cocoon of the tiny studio.  
  
He leaned against the cold white brick wall and stared out the window at the spot where the Corinthos-Morgan warehouse used to stand. Now it was nothing but a pile of smoldering rubble. He had lost count of how many times that very building had been reconstructed or how much money they had spent upgrading security to still end up trapped between its burning walls. Jason knew it was an occupational hazard and for himself he could live with it. But when he allowed himself to glance at Elizabeth's sleeping form he was less than sure. How many times could he make her a target or let her sit at home worrying if she would ever see him again? Her desperate pleas for him not to push her away again picked at him. Jason felt like he was being torn in two and one part was foreign to him – it was the part that was letting his heart rule his good judgement. His heart wouldn't – couldn't give her up no matter the danger.  
  
He watched as she stirred a bit on the small sofa her chestnut curls fell haphazardly across her cheek. Jason felt his breath catch in his throat. He couldn't leave her not even if he tried. No matter if she was with him or not, Elizabeth had a piece of him and even when he tried to hide it his feelings came through loud and clear. Deep down he knew she was safer with him than without him. He was just sorry it had taken so many years for him to see it for himself.  
  
"Elizabeth," he whispered in her ear. "Baby, it's time to get up," he said with very little conviction in his voice.  
  
"Ummmmm."  
  
"Hey sleepy." He smiled when she finally opened her azure eyes.  
  
"Morning," she purred reaching up and pulling his mouth to hers. The simple action had Jason wanting to strip and join her beneath the blanket. But he knew that wasn't an option. He had to start investigating exactly what happened yesterday at the warehouse that caused the fire. Not that he didn't already have a few theories brewing in his brain.  
  
"You ready to go home?" he asked tracing the features of her face with his finger.  
  
"Not yet," she smiled sheepishly pulling him toward her. She cocked her brow as she began undoing the buttons on his jeans as she had the night before. Jason shook his head and returned her seductive smile before crawling under the covers – the thoughts of the fire and how it started getting lost in the depths of ecstasy.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sonny stood watching Carly and Michael sleeping peacefully in the middle of their king size bed. He had been standing guard over them for the better part of the night not being able to sleep himself. He had far too many thoughts swirling around his head. He had insisted that they go to the hospital last night not for himself but for Carly. He knew the stress of having to watch the warehouse burning again with him inside could have caused her to go into labor prematurely. He was relieved when Dr. Meadows told them that everything was fine not even a hint of any contractions. Somehow though once they got back to the penthouse Sonny couldn't help but worry. Even after her pleadings for him to come to bed with her he couldn't. He was stuck in the mind set that he wasn't worthy of the family he had. He couldn't get passed the fact the he felt undeserving of all the things that graced his life. Things like money and power came easily but when it had to do with love and family those were a struggle.  
  
Sonny closed the door to the bedroom as the sun began its climb into the morning sky. He made his way down the stairs to the main living space of the penthouse and went to the French doors that showcased the Port Charles skyline. Sonny looked out over the cityscape. In the distance he could vaguely make out the wisps of smoke that still hung in the air from last nights fire. He closed his eyes and hung his head low recalling the event. But rather than the fire his mind centered on his argument with Jason. For months now they had been grousing at one another and while it made him physically sick he couldn't find a way to stop the endless fighting. In all actuality he knew how to end it – eliminate Ric.  
  
Sonny thought about all of the offenses his half brother committed against his family. Ric hadn't even had the balls to come at Sonny directly but rather he had gone through his family – his wife to get at him. Sonny tried not to think about the hell that Carly had gone through while she was chained to that wall in panic room. It amazed him how strong she had been. How she had done everything in her power to keep their unborn child safe. She was the strongest woman he had ever known. So why couldn't he be as strong? Why couldn't he just give the order? Why couldn't he just tell Jason to exterminate the pest from all of their lives? Why? That single word haunted Sonny.  
  
In the back of his mind he knew why and the reason stared back at him from the dark eyes of a picture of his mother. He hadn't been able to protect her all those years ago from Deke. Had Ric's tale of Adella's choosing Sonny over him been the reason she had had such a horrible life at Deke's hand? Had it really been his fault for all of the horrible things she had suffered through?  
  
Sonny shook his head and squared his shoulders not wanting to relive a past he could do nothing about. But the future that was something he could change. He needed to talk to Jason. He needed to make his long time friend understand.  
  
Sonny nodded to Johnny as he walked toward Jason's penthouse. Just when he reached the elevator the door slid open and Elizabeth and Jason stepped out arms wrapped securely around each other's waists.  
  
"Sonny," Jason said a little surprised to see him standing right there.  
  
"Jase."  
  
"How are you?" Elizabeth questioned instantly feeling Jason's body fill with tension.  
  
"I'm good."  
  
"And Carly?" she continued.  
  
"She's fine. Sleeping with Michael right now."  
  
"I'm glad both of you are good." Elizabeth smiled.  
  
"Jason, I need to talk to you," Sonny announced.  
  
Jason hung his head wishing that he and Elizabeth had taken refuge in her studio for a little while longer. "I'll won't be long," he said to her.  
  
"I'll go grab a shower. I have the late shift today," she answered. "Tell Carly that I'll see her later."  
  
"I will. Let's go inside." He turned to Jason indicating he follow him to penthouse four.  
  
Jason looked at Johnny before entering behind Sonny. The guard gave Jason a knowing smile. It seemed as though everyone in the organization wished that the boss would just wise up and get rid of Ric Lansing.  
  
"You want a drink?" Sonny asked as Jason closed the door leaving Johnny standing on the other side.  
  
"No," Jason answered dropping his leather jacket on the nearest chair. He stood there silent as Sonny poured himself a glass of scotch. He had decided that he was done arguing and would let Sonny get to whatever it was he thought he needed to say.  
  
Sonny brought the rim of the glass to his lips but his eyes met Jason's hard stare. He hadn't seen those formidable cold eyes in years. He hadn't seen them since the day that Jason told him to never speak to him again about what had happened between him and Carly. It had taken years for things between the pair to return to normal but now Sonny found them back in the same position.  
  
"What did you need to talk to me about?" Jason finally asked.  
  
"I wanted to thank you."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Thank you for coming to find me in the fire. I mean with the way we have been lately...."  
  
"What?" Jason cut him off.  
  
"It's just that you and I are at odds at every turn....."  
  
"What – you thought I would leave you in there to burn to death?" Jason was appalled that Sonny thought that little of him.  
  
"Yes.....no! I mean you didn't even know that I was still in the warehouse but you stuck around to find out. You didn't have to do that." Sonny made an attempt at backpedaling knowing by the look on Jason's face that he had again stuck his foot in his mouth.  
  
"What do you mean I didn't have to do that? Sonny ..." Jason didn't even know what to say.  
  
"I just wanted to let you know how thankful I am."  
  
"How could you even think that I would leave you in the building to burn to death?" Jason couldn't get passed that Sonny would even think that. "I don't care what the hell we have been fighting about. I WOULDN'T do that – not to you and not to Carly and Michael."  
  
"Jason, that's not what I meant," Sonny said desperately trying to stop the train wreck he had just set in motion.  
  
"Then what did you mean?"  
  
Sonny was at a loss for words. He didn't have a comeback for that question. What had he meant? He didn't really think that Jason would let his differing opinion stop from him doing his job. "Well I know it's your job to protect me and my interests."  
  
"It's more than a job, Sonny." But even as Jason said that he was beginning to wonder if he hadn't placed too much stock in his friendship with the Mob boss. Maybe when he couldn't give the man blind obedience he had lost his usefulness.  
  
"I know it is," Sonny said wishing he could stop himself from talking.  
  
"I don't think you do. I think that you don't like what I have to say lately so it's easier for you to see me as an employee that you can order around. I haven't been that person in years Sonny."  
  
"Jason, this doesn't have anything to do with Ric."  
  
"Everything has something to do with him!" Jason shouted. "The minute he came to Port Charles and tried to be your attorney it's been about him – about his vendetta – about his need for revenge – about his need to have so many things that aren't his."  
  
Jason immediately thought about Elizabeth. He thought about all the things that Ric had done to her in the name of love – all the things he was still doing even though Sonny couldn't see it or wouldn't admit it. "It's all about Ric!"  
  
How had a simple thank you turned into yet another tiresome argument about Ric Lansing? "Jason, can't we please not do this again. You know my thoughts on Ric..."  
  
"And you know mine!" Jason said harshly interrupting him before grabbing his jacket and slamming the door behind him.  
  
"You are unbelievable you know that?"  
  
Sonny turned his head and saw his wife's furious face as she descended the stairs. "Carly please be careful!" he said heading to the stairs to help her take the last few steps.  
  
"Don't...don't change the subject. Don't make this about me suddenly when it's so about you Sonny."  
  
"Remember Dr. Meadows said to avoid stress," he continued as though he hadn't heard her speaking.  
  
"Given the bull headed man I am married to I find that pretty tough."  
  
"Will you at least sit down, please?"  
  
"Sonny, what were you thinking?"  
  
"I was thinking I wanted to offer thanks to Jason."  
  
"And you think that's what you did? You basically said that you didn't think he would've looked for you because the two of you don't see eye to eye on what the hell to do with Ric Lansing. My god Sonny, how could you think that Jason would let you burn to death?" Carly couldn't warp her mind on that thought, not even a tiny piece of it.  
  
"That's not what I said."  
  
"The hell it isn't! You said it over and over again. You treated him like he was some hired hand not the man who's been our friend even when we didn't much deserve it!"  
  
Sonny looked away from his wife unable to meet her gaze. For once he knew Carly spoke the truth and that frightened him more than he expected. It was rare that she was the voice of reason. "I don't treat Jason like a hired hand."  
  
"When it comes to Ric you do. You expect him to put aside all of the things he feels for the man that's not only terrorized me but Elizabeth too."  
  
"I'm still the boss," Sonny said stating the obvious.  
  
"You are totally beyond belief, Sonny!" Carly shouted as she headed for the door.  
  
"Where are you going?"  
  
"Out!" she spat unable to continue having this pointless conversation with her husband.  
  
Sonny watched as Carly strode passed Johnny in a huff. The guard and the mob boss locked eyes and spoke to one another with not a single word, however Johnny O'Brien knew that his job was to keep Mrs. Corinthos safe. Sonny closed the door of his penthouse when Carly and Johnny disappeared into the elevator.  
  
Filling his highball glass again he allowed his physically and emotionally spent body to fall against the velveteen fabric of the sofa. The knocking from the other side of the door startled his eyes open. "What?" he said when another wave of knocking began.  
  
"Mr. Corinthos, it's John Simon. I have some information for you about the fire at your warehouse."  
  
Sonny pulled himself up from his resting place and walked over to the door ushering the other man inside. John Simon was one of the many men Sonny had on his payroll inside the ranks of PCPD. "Well?" Sonny asked impatiently.  
  
"Here." John Simon handed over a plain manila folder. "It's being ruled arson."  
  
"Like that's a surprise," Sonny scoffed opening the folder eyeing the documents inside. "You can go now," he said staring at the man standing in the middle of his living room.  
  
Sonny sat down on the sofa as the door clicked closed in the background. As he continued reading the reports. He couldn't believe his eyes. According to the records the fire was started by something as simple as gasoline soaked rags. Certainly nothing as high tech as he had experienced with the previous fires and explosions. It was a single line that befuddled Sonny – unable to believe what it said. There was a black silk scarf found close to the scene with the monogrammed initials FR on it. He immediately flashed back to his earlier conversation with Jason from the other day. A conversation about Faith and ultimately a conversation about Ric.  
  
Sonny picked up the phone and dialed the number of the guard he had placed on Faith Roscoe. "How's our house guest?" he asked.  
  
Sonny listened as he was told all that he needed to know – that Faith had been taken out of commission some time ago. Again his eyes scanned the papers laying before him all of sudden being forced to rethink all that he wanted to be true. He placed the receiver in its cradle and leaned against the desk allowing it all to sink in. No matter what the fire report wanted him to believe Sonny knew that Faith's scarf was a plant to throw him off course. To throw him off of the track that Jason had always been on – Ric Lansing. 


	40. Retribution

Second Chances: Retribution  
  
Jason slammed the door to his penthouse behind him with a resounding thud that reverberated throughout the large space. He hadn't felt anger like this since the early days after his accident when he wasn't able to give those people around him what they all so desperately needed and wanted. He was filled with a tidal wave of emotions. Sonny's backhanded words of thanks spun in Jason's mind. How had they gotten to that place? A place where Sonny would think that Jason would let their differences cloud his loyalty. A place where Sonny believed that Jason would let him burn to death. Jason felt his body begin to shake consumed by a rage he had never experienced before. How could his best friend even think those things for a mere second?  
  
Jason clenched his jaw tight as short hard burst of air escaped his nostrils. He swallowed deliberately several times around the large lump in his throat trying to press the rage back into the place is was so frantically trying to flee from. He tightened his grip on the headrest of the supple leather chair in front of him until his knuckles grew white under the pressure. Before he could stop himself Jason saw the large black object sail across the room crashing into the solid surface of the white plaster wall. The simple action allowed the damn holding back his fury to break loose as he raked his arms across his desk sending the objects placed there flying in all directions. The desk was the next article that was toppled as Jason let out a growl from the back of his throat.  
  
"Jason?" Elizabeth's soft voice immediately brought him to a stand still.  
  
He turned and watched as she descended the staircase. He stared at her with a look of shame on his face. She continued down the stairs and went to where he stood among the rumble. Elizabeth reached out and stroked his face sensing the violent storm brewing inside him and wanting so much to calm it. Jason laid his hand across hers and expelled as ragged breath.  
  
"Do you want to talk about it or would you rather break something else?" she asked in all seriousness wanting to give back to him what he had always given her – pure unadulterated acceptance.  
  
Jason pulled her into his arms and held her firmly against his chest letting himself get lost in her vanilla scent. She laid her head on his chest and listened as his beating heart settled into an even steady rhythm. "What happened with Sonny," she finally asked pulling back to look at his face. Elizabeth was certain Sonny and their conversation was at the root of Jason's anger.  
  
He led her over to the large brown sofa and she positioned herself in the corner waiting for him to say whatever he needed to. For a long time both sat in silence. Jason not knowing what to say and Elizabeth not wanting to press him. Eventually he began. "Sonny wanted to thank me."  
  
"Okay," Elizabeth didn't quite understand the problem in that but didn't say anymore.  
  
"He thought because we have been at odds over what to do about Ric that I would..." Jason faltered for a second not wanting to say aloud what Sonny had so blatantly alluded to earlier. "He thought that I wouldn't look for him. He thought that I would let him stay trapped in the warehouse as it burned down around him."  
  
"What?" Elizabeth couldn't hide her disbelief. Instantly anger welled inside of her. After everything that Jason had ever done for Sonny it was unfathomable that he could really believe such things about a man who had given him not only his undying loyalty but his life as well.  
  
"He said he knew it was my job. Doesn't he understand that it's never just been a job to me?" Jason asked but Elizabeth wasn't exactly sure the question was meant for her or if it held some elusive answer only Jason knew.  
  
She moved next to him and held his face in her hands wishing she could take away the pain that she saw hiding behind his steely blue eyes. She wanted so badly to walk across the hall and tell Sonny exactly what she thought of him. Yet she knew that wasn't what Jason would have wanted but it still pained her to know how much he was hurting. "I'm sorry about what's happening with Sonny," she said.  
  
"There's nothing for you to be sorry for."  
  
"I'm sorry that you are at odds with him. I'm sorry that he can't see what's right in front of his face. I know how that feels though. I know what it's like to want to believe something so badly that you make it true even when it isn't."  
  
"It's not the same," Jason said, knowing full well that she was speaking of how she blindly believed all of the lies Ric had fed her. "Sonny, knows what the threat is and it's only out of some misplaced loyalty to his mother that he can't do what needs to be done!" Jason felt his ire growing once more. "What more has to happen before he does what needs to be done? Does someone have to die for Sonny to open his eyes?"  
  
"I don't know," she answered honestly. "I hope not," she said knowing that it could, as easily be Jason dead as anyone else. She reached for him holding him tightly not allowing those thoughts to consume her.  
  
"Are we going to have to look over our shoulders forever waiting to see when and where Ric will strike next? Are you going to have to shadowed by guards for the rest of your life because Ric is a psycho who thinks he's above Sonny's wrath?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"Well I do! I don't want you to have to live like that Elizabeth. You deserve so much more than that. You deserve to be free. You can't ever be that if Ric is still breathing." Jason clenched his fists tightly in his lap.  
  
Elizabeth forced his hands open and placed hers against them. She kissed him sweetly on the lips. "Thank you for wanting so much for me, but as long as I have you in my life I have everything I need. Besides Max isn't so bad you know," she smiled jokingly.  
  
Jason felt a smile of his own tugging at the corners of his mouth when she said that. "So Max isn't so bad huh?"  
  
"No I am beginning to like having him around. He's not you of course," she grinned seductively. "But he'll do in a pinch."  
  
"Oh will he now huh?"  
  
"Uh-huh." She laughed.  
  
"Well then I guess you should see if he'll take you for a ride then," Jason said pushing her shoulder.  
  
Elizabeth had to chuckle at the image of Max on a motorcycle. She just couldn't picture it. "I'd rather stick with you if that's alright?"  
  
"That's more than fine with me. How about tonight? You want to go for a ride? I think I could use the deafening sound of the wind rushing passed me. What about you?"  
  
"I'd love it!" she squealed glad that Jason finally had a motorcycle again.  
  
"I'll pick you up after your shift."  
  
"I'll be waiting. I better get going before I'm late. Are you sure you're okay?" she inquired reaching for her purse that sat on the glass top table.  
  
"I'm good. Keep Max close," Jason said placing a kiss on her full lips. He still didn't want to take any chances when it came to Ric Lansing and his need to make Elizabeth his once more.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Ric had diligently tried to erase the recollection of the images of Jason and Elizabeth's naked bodies making love that paraded across his mind like a never ending slide show. Yet he couldn't do a single thing to make them stop. They assaulted him to the point of madness. He had stood outside Elizabeth's studio for hours after she and Jason had left. It was like he couldn't bring himself to move. He stayed there to torture himself with the mental pictures of Jason's hands caressing every inch of her body and of Elizabeth pleasuring a man that wasn't him. The longer he stayed the strong his conviction of vengeance grew. To the point now that he wanted them both to so badly pay.  
  
Ric paced the floor of his living room fighting with the warring voices in his head. He looked at the picture of Elizabeth that he held in his hand and deep down knew he didn't want to hurt her. Yet the voice that taunted him with all the ways she had betrayed and made a fool of him was relentless to the point that it had been successful in drowning out any slight reason that Ric's warped brain could muster.  
  
He knew there was no other way for this to work. He was certain that she had left him with no other choice than to do what he was about to. He had done it once and he could do it again. He picked up the rope and duct tape and placed them in his black duffel bag. Ric stuffed the white cotton rag and bottle of chloroform in his pocket and finally he pulled open the middle drawer of the desk and retrieved his pistol tucking it neatly into the waistband of his jeans.  
  
"I love you, Elizabeth," he stated to the pictured of his wife that looked lovingly back at him. "I know you can love me again. All I have to do is remove the distractions from your life and you will see what I have always known – that you and I are meant for one another." He kissed the photo lightly before exiting his house.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
At the sound of the bell ringing overhead Elizabeth looked up to see Carly entering Kelly's with Johnny following close behind. "Hey," she said as the blonde positioned herself at the counter.  
  
Elizabeth couldn't help but think about all the times they had been in these same positions and how each and every one of them had ended up in an argument about either Sonny or Jason and sometimes about both of them. But this time she could see that while Carly was clearly upset it had nothing to do with her. "Are you okay?"  
  
"I was about to ask you the same thing," Carly said.  
  
"I'm good. But distinctly you're not. What's going on?"  
  
"Where the hell do I even start?"  
  
"Anywhere would be fine," Elizabeth smiled.  
  
"Well Sonny being a complete ass pretty much sums it up." Carly circled the rim of the cup that Elizabeth had put in front of her. "He's so bull headed some times," she huffed. "When's he going to see that Jason is right?"  
  
Elizabeth leaned her elbows against the counter feeling that Sonny had alienated the two people that meant the most to him in one fail swoop. "What happened Carly?"  
  
"Sonny was just being Sonny."  
  
"Well I got that," Elizabeth smiled.  
  
"He's acting like Jason is one of his men that he can order around. He's treating him like he hasn't been more than a hired gun. He's forgotten so much because he can't see passed his loyalty to his mother's memory. What about Jason's loyalty?" Carly cried. "Shouldn't that mean something?"  
  
Again Elizabeth felt as if she was being asked a question that she wasn't meant to answer but she tried just the same. "Yes it should. And I think it does on some level."  
  
"I can't believe you are defending him after he basically told Jason that he expected him to leave him in the warehouse to burn to death!" Carly all of the sudden was rethinking Elizabeth's commitment to Jason.  
  
Elizabeth decided against even trying to answer her question. She knew she couldn't. She was madder than hell at Sonny for how easily he could cast Jason off just because Jason wouldn't blindly obey him but feeding Carly's anger wouldn't serve any purpose at the moment.  
  
"Carly, I know you're mad at Sonny. But the last thing that Jason would want right now is for you upsetting yourself over something that you can't change. Sonny's going to feel and do what he wants and Jason is going to have to the same. Nothing either of us does will change that. You need to think about you and your baby. I don't think Max and Johnny could take your going into labor again," Elizabeth laughed smiling widely at her now friend.  
  
Carly looked over her shoulder at Johnny and smiled too. The way that both men had gone weak in the knees did make her want to laugh.  
  
"You're angry with Sonny but deep down Carly you know how much a part of you he is. You love him faults and all. Just like he loves you the same way. Nobody's perfect Carly but that shouldn't stop you from grabbing love when you find it and holding on for dear life."  
  
"Are you talking about me and Sonny or are you talking about you and Jason?"  
  
"Both. I was lucky enough to get a second chance with Jason and I'm not going to waste it. Don't do the same with Sonny. Yeah so he's a control freak whom thinks only he knows what's right and wrong but he's your control freak and you love him. Don't you?"  
  
"Yes," Carly said with a half smile.  
  
"Then what are you doing here?"  
  
"I just had to get out of the penthouse."  
  
"Come on tell me the truth you just wanted an excuse to come here for a hot fudge sundae. How about I make you one to go?"  
  
"Works for me."  
  
"Why am I not surprised?" Elizabeth stated as she went about scooping ice cream into a to go cup.  
  
"Elizabeth," Carly reached across the counter and rested her hand gently on the tiny brunette's arm. "Thanks. Who would have ever thought you would be giving me advice on my husband?"  
  
"Not me," the younger woman chuckled and went back to finishing her work at hand."  
  
Elizabeth looked at the clock behind the counter. She had a half- hour before it was closing time. She was anxious to get on the back of Jason's bike and go nowhere fast. She needed to get lost in the rushing wind and she knew that Jason did too. It was obvious to her that the ever- growing rift between him and Sonny was taking its toll on Jason even if he would never admit it.  
  
She continued around the dining area wiping the empty tables, filling the condiments and doing all of the other things that had become second nature to her when she was the person closing up for the evening. The last thing she had to do was her least favorite – taking out the trash. She knew she could have waited for Jason and he would have done it for her but Elizabeth didn't want to waste one extra moment they could be out on the cliff road by asking him to do a job that was rightfully hers. So she picked up the heavy bag and drug it to the back door that led to the alley where the large dumpster sat.  
  
Elizabeth hurled it over her shoulder and the large green bag dropped into the receptacle alongside a dozen more identical bags. Just as she turned to head back inside she felt an arm grab her by the waist from behind. Before she could even scream a thick cloth covered her nose and mouth and an intoxicatingly sweet smell filled her nostrils until the world around her went black.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jason approached Kelly's helmet in hand. He couldn't wait to get out on the dirt roads into the crisp night air. He couldn't wait to feel Elizabeth's arms wrapped around him and hear her screams of delight when he took a curve too fast. He needed to not think and a ride was the best way to do that.  
  
"Hey," he said when he reached Max. "You can go. Be back at the penthouse in the morning."  
  
"We'll do boss. Night," Max said as he left his post for the evening.  
  
Jason walked into Kelly's. The diner was empty and an eerie silence hung in the air. "Elizabeth," Jason called. He walked up to the counter and saw her purse tucked beside the register. "Elizabeth," he said again now heading for the kitchen. Maybe the water was running and she just couldn't hear him. "Elizabeth!" Jason heard the panic creeping into his voice when he found the kitchen empty as well. "Elizabeth!"  
  
Jason felt as though he was standing outside of himself watching what was happening rather that actually doing it. Jason opened the back door hoping she was just outside but all the while knowing in his gut that she wouldn't be there. "ELIZABETH!!!!" His voice echoed off into the darkness of the night. She was gone. 


	41. Man Hunt

Well back after a very very long hiatus is this story. I apologize for basically letting it drop off the face of the earth but for one reason or another I hit a writing snag when it came to this and decided putting it to bed for a bit was the best thing. But now it's back and I hope that it still has some readers interested in it. I hope to have some feedback about it soon.

Thanks again.   
Lisa

Second Chances: Man Hunt  
  
The black helmet that Jason had been holding tumbled to the ground with a loud crash as the realization that Elizabeth was gone settled deep in his chest. "ELIZABETH!!" he shouted again only to have his voice bounce back at him off of the cold brick walls that surrounded him. His head darted from side to side looking for any clue what might have happened – but there was nothing. Not a single trace of anything. Jason stumbled back against the half open steel door and desperately tried to focus his thoughts yet all he could think about was the feeling of déjà vu that consumed him. His mind settled on how close he had come to losing Elizabeth when she had been kidnapped and held captive in the crypt. He didn't want to think about how a few minutes longer she would have succumbed to the gas fumes if he hadn't gotten to her when he did. He didn't know if he could live through another nightmare like that and more importantly he doubted that Elizabeth could either.  
  
Jason wanted to move but it was as if he was rooted to the pavement. His head shouted orders that his body was unwilling to follow. It was so unlike him to be in suspended animation yet that's how he suddenly felt – as if he had no control over anything including himself. It wasn't as though all of the other times that Elizabeth had been put into danger because of him he had felt any different, but it was though their declaration of love for one another that suddenly intensified his anxieties. "ELIZABETH!" he screamed once more yet the strangled cry got caught in his throat.  
  
A roaring sound in the distance forced Jason to react – forced his brain to process something other than his own disbelief that he had lost Elizabeth again. Drawing his gun in almost attack like mode, he realized that the sound was nothing more than a car backfiring as it coughed to a start. For him it would have been easier – simpler if the reverberating sound had actually been gunfire. He would have known how to react. Jason's instincts would have taken over rather than leaving him standing there fumbling with so many emotions. For one instant Jason allowed himself the stabbing grief that consumed him. His love for Elizabeth ran deep – deeper than he had ever expected or thought possible. He wasn't about to lose her now – not after they had come so far to be where they were finally. Fishing through the pockets of his leather jacket he produced his phone. "Max!" he barked. "Elizabeth's gone. She's gone," he said again when the voice on the end of the line questioned incredulity. "There isn't time for this," Jason shouted again not wanting to answer any of Max's successive inquiries. "Get every man, I mean EVERY available man out looking for her. Turn Port Charles upside down if you have to. Just find her!!" Jason slammed the phone shut abruptly ending his call.  
  
He felt his shoulders slump and fought against slipping back into a state of shock. He couldn't afford to be wasting valuable time. There was no question in his mind who was responsible for snatching Elizabeth. It was the same person who had been responsible for everything that had been happening. Ric Lansing. With that thought in mind Jason began a search of his own, starting with the Lansing home.  
  
Sonny sat in the rear of the limo fingering the black silk scarf. Again his eyes focused on the blood red initials 'FR'. If he hadn't known that for the past weeks Faith had been under lock and key, Sonny would have easily fallen into the thinking that his little brother had wanted him to. Hell he had been thinking that for months now but the day that Sonny had Faith Roscoe picked up obviously was something that Ric hadn't planned on and inadvertently left him holding the bag for everything.  
  
The long black car rolled to a stop and Sonny waited for his driver to open the rear door. He exited the car stretching after the long ride and stared at the small safe house three hours outside of Port Charles. Stuffing the evidence that finally revealed to Sonny that Jason had been right all along into the pocket of his over coat Sonny nodded to the two men standing sentry at the door before passing over the threshold.  
  
Sonny turned the knob and entered the darkened room where Faith sat tied to straight back wooden chair. He watched for a moment as she squirmed realizing that she was no longer alone. With a controlled jerk Sonny ripped the blindfold from her clear blue eyes. Faith blinked several times attempting to focus but when Sonny let the roller shades shielding the room in darkness fly up flooding the room with the bright light of day the effort was a fruitless one for her.  
  
Sonny stood in the blazing sunlight looking like a dark menacing force but as Faith's bleary eyes finally gave way to sight she realized who was standing before her. Again she squirmed hating to be in such a powerless position.  
  
"Comfortable?" Sonny asked snidely.  
  
"Very funny," Faith retorted desperately trying to remove her hands from the skillfully tied ropes holding her wrists in place. Sonny sat on the edge of the desk watching her and enjoying the discomfort his presence brought out in her. "What?" she finally spat unnerved by his cocky smirk that revealed the deep dimples in his olive skin.  
  
"I think you know what," Sonny said as calm as could be as the gun that he had been carrying in his coat pocket emerged. Faith's blue eyes widened as he laid the heavy piece of metal beside him. The sunlight glinted off its polished surface. "There's a little matter of a fire at one of my warehouses that needs to be discussed."  
  
"And you think it was me?" Faith asked in disbelief. "It you haven't noticed I'm a little tied up at the moment!" Her voice held more vibrato than a woman in her position should have.  
  
"I can see that," Sonny concurred with a laugh. "But what's to say you didn't give the order a while ago? I'm sure ridding the world of Ric's big mean brother would have gained you some brownie points with him."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You heard me. That's just one more thing in the long list of what you've done to get in the good graces of my kid brother. Hell killing me would have been icing on the cake."  
  
"What?" she said again as Faith tried to wrap her mind around what Sonny was talking about. "I didn't start any fire at your warehouse Sonny." Faith remarked as her gaze was drawn now to his hand resting gently on his gun.  
  
"What about Jason's motorcycle? You tampered with that or had one of those bafoons you call guards mess with it. You looking to take out my right hand so you'd have easier access to the real prize? And what about the drive by outside of Harbor view Towers? Are you telling me you weren't responsible for that either?" Sonny's voice grew louder.  
  
"I didn't touch Morgan's precious motorcycle. I told you Sonny I wanted a truce. I stay out of your way and you stay out of mine."  
  
"So what you let Ric do all the dirty work and then you reap all the rewards?" Sonny questioned.  
  
"Ric? What are you talking about Ric?"  
  
"Don't play stupid Faith. It's obvious that you and Ric have been working together for a while now."  
  
"I'm not working with anyone! I haven't done anything!" Faith forced.  
  
"Oh really?"  
  
"Yes, really!" she stressed.  
  
Once more Sonny reached into his pocket. Faith stiffened fearful of what was to come next. She looked on as he pulled a slender piece of black silk from the opening and began waving it in her face. "Look familiar?" he asked.  
  
"Should it?" she said sarcastically not liking playing this game of cat and mouse with him especially when she was the one in the trap. Sonny held the fabric up end to end between both hands revealing the script initials. She swallowed around the apple-sized lump that had come to sit in her throat. There was no doubt in her mind that the scarf was hers yet she wasn't about to admit it. "So what – it's a scarf."  
  
"It's your scarf."  
  
"What – you think I am the only person in Port Charles with the initials FR? Get real Sonny!" Faith huffed. "That isn't mine." Sonny got off of his perch and took two steps towards her burying Faith's nose in the sash. She coughed and sputtered as the residual smell of gasoline hung in the fabric's fibers. "What the hell are you doing?" she gasped when he finally pulled away.  
  
"Giving you a better look at one of the rags that ignited the blaze at the coffee warehouse. One of your," he stressed, "rags."  
  
"I don't know what the hell you are talking about Sonny!"  
  
"Well then maybe it's time I sat talking to your partner in crime. Because apparently he was too stupid to realize his patsy was out of commission."  
  
"What!?"  
  
"When was the last time you talked to Ric, Faith?"  
  
"I haven't," she lied.  
  
"So you weren't living with him? You weren't sleeping with him? You weren't plotting with him on how to bring me down?"  
  
"NO!"  
  
"You're not a very good liar Faith and obviously you aren't too bright either. Ric's been playing you for a fool. He's been using you as his scapegoat the whole time. He's been setting a trail for all of his crimes to lead straight back to you. But then again he's not too smart either since he didn't even realize his alibi had become the guest of the man he was trying to eliminate."  
  
Faith felt her blood boil in her veins as her anger began a slow steady burn. Suddenly she was overcome by a feeling of having done this before. It was just like when Ric plied her with flowery words when giving her the beautiful red glass that she later found out to be Elizabeth Webber's. Everything that Ric Lansing did was tied to his ex-wife. It was always always about Elizabeth and Faith knew this time to be no different – except now Ric was trying to take her out of the equation as well by offering her up on a silver platter to Sonny no less. She wasn't about to let Ric's whacked obsession with Elizabeth tighten the noose around her neck.  
  
"I didn't set that fire or mess with Jason's motorcycle. I'm not the one with the bizarre obsessions." Sonny had to laugh at her last comment. In his opinion she was just as obsessed as Ric was in her own way. "It's Ric. All of it's been him. The bike accident, trashing Elizabeth's studio – everything was him. He wants her for himself and he's going to do anything to have her. He really thought getting rid of Morgan would give him a clear path to her. I tried to get him to see that we were the better pair... ..."  
  
"And when he wouldn't listen that's when you decided to eliminate the competition?"  
  
"What!? NO – NO!"  
  
"Come on Faith you don't think I don't know that it was you who was responsible for that little drive by outside of my building? The one where your guy botched the job and shot my man rather his intended target."  
  
"She wasn't supposed to be hurt," Faith blurted out before her brain could stop her mouth from speaking.  
  
"So then it was your doing?" Sonny questioned even though he already knew the answer. His investigation into the incident was what had prompted him to pick Faith up in the first place.  
  
"Yes – no."  
  
"Which is it Faith?"  
  
The blonde wanna be Mob boss looked away knowing that no matter what she said she had already stated too much. "I didn't want to hurt her. I just wanted to give Ric a message. I wanted him to know that you can't always get what you want."  
  
"Apparently that's not a lesson you know too well yourself," Sonny stated almost cryptic.  
  
Sonny had gathered all of the necessary information. It tore him up now knowing that all of the animosity between himself and Jason had been of his own doing – even Carly could see what he had been so blind to. It angered Sonny that he had let some warped sense of loyalty for family cloud his good sense. A sense that had kept him alive and well in his business for this long. It was time to do what should have been done a long time ago. Sonny's only hope was that his mother would understand his actions.  
  
He turned his back on Faith and headed for the doorway. "Sonny – SONNY!" Faith's frantic voice called to him but he refused to look back. She had served her purpose and he gave a nod to Marco as he passed him. As Sonny climbed into the stretch limo the ringing of gunshots sounded in the distance.  
  
With one swift kick of Jason's heavy motorcycle boot the door to Ric Lansing's home flew open with a resounding thud as it bounced off the pristine plaster walls. Again Jason found himself captured by an eerie sensation of déjà vu having not that long ago done the very same thing in his search for Carly. This time however he knew exactly what he was looking for. Immediately Jason walked to the bookcase that flanked the fireplace pulled over the glass door and pushed the button that he knew would allow the hidden panel to slide away revealing the panic room. He rushed the to room just as the door began to slither into the pocket in the opposing wall but stopped short when he found the room empty. Jason had truly believed that Lansing would have been dumb enough to use the familiar hiding place. "DAMN!!!" he shouted slamming his fist against the concrete block wall.  
  
He had entered with such purpose to now only be struck dumbfounded again. Jason thought it would be truly as simple as walking into the panic room whisking his love away from her capture and coming back to dispose of him later. But that wasn't the case at all. There Jason stood just as he had in the alley behind Kelly's – bewildered and fearing the worst. All the things that Ric had done to Elizabeth in the name of love bombarded Jason. All the times that she had been within a hair of dying because of the madman she was married to paralyzed Jason for the moment fearing what else Ric could have in store for her.  
  
Jason was about to turn an leave the room knowing that he was wasting more valuable time standing there thinking about things he could do nothing to change when his boot further crushed a broken canvas beneath his foot. He looked down and was reminded of the time he had removed a splinter from Elizabeth's finger and then subsquently stretched her remaining canvases. His head was filled with so many snippets of memories like that one. Times when things could have evolved into so much more if they had both just gotten out of their own and let it happen.  
  
He took a closer look and realized that there were many more shredded and broken canvases, Elizabeth's canvases, littering the floor of the panic room not to mention a few of her paintings still hung on the walls. A chill ran down Jason's spine as there he stood in the shrine Ric had built to Elizabeth. A sickening feeling circled in Jason's stomach. He glanced at the paintings and while he wasn't able to see the full effect of the creation – they were still Elizabeth's creations and it angered Jason to no end to know that Ric had destroyed what she had painstakingly gave birth to. If he had had the time he would have collected the ones unharmed that remained hanging but he knew he couldn't. He'd come back for them he thought until the corner of a canvas caught his attention. Jason was drawn to the painting by a force he couldn't explain. He picked up the canvas and immediately knew the painting. It was his painting – 'The Wind'. Jason ran his fingers over the brush strokes and could see every one of them thanks to Elizabeth_.  
  
... ... "Elizabeth, I'm sure your painting is great, but you can't go by me."  
"Then who should I go by some professor, or somebody? You're the one on the bike with me. You're the one who showed me the rush you get when the wind's in your face and the world is flashing by. Sort of hoped it was here."  
"It probably is. It's just that I would be the last one to see it. You know about my accident?"  
"Yeah, Emily told me."  
"Right well, the person I was before is gone, and so are some of the things he can do."  
"But you're fine right?"  
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. But it's like seeing two-dimensional things, ok – drawings, maps, paintings. I just don't see what I am supposed to see."  
"But you can perform emergency surgery in the parking lot."  
"Well, certain things I remember. Like I said, he wanted to be a doctor. But it's just things on paper don't click."  
"Even photographs?"  
"I'm a little better with those."  
"Because they're more like real life."  
"That's right."  
"So it's as if you can see the primary colors but not the shades in between. Ok, come here. Look. Do you see this big red blur?"  
"Yes."  
"Okay. You know the neon sign in front of Apple Jacks?"  
"Mm-hmm."  
"Well, I painted it as a big red streak because I don't know about you but I don't take in the words as we're zooming by.  
"Right, just the color."  
"Right, red. And you see this big yellow thing?"  
"Mm-hmm."  
"That's Angelina's house of beauty."  
"It's the door."  
"Right, the huge yellow door. Okay you see these black loops in the distance? That's the top of the ferris wheel."  
"From the corner of VanNess and Jefferson street."  
"Yes. Yes, exactly you've got it."  
"When you explain it, it sounds right to me. You know, a painting like this of the wind should probably be in a museum."  
"No, no, no, no. This painting belongs on the wall of the man who taught me to see the wind in the first place.  
"I'd like that. Thank you." ... ...  
  
_Jason held the painting against his chest recalling how he had always said it was a present he couldn't take with him but had to come back to. Well he intended for Elizabeth coming back for it too. He shook his head as he looked back over the panic room one last time. Ric was a psycho and the longer Elizabeth was his prisoner the more potential harm to her there was.  
  
Jason stepped off the elevator as he ended his latest phone call to Max. Still now sign of Elizabeth or Ric. It was like they both dropped off the face of the earth and that idea terrified Jason. He had difficulty wrapping his head around feeling so helpless. That was one thing that Jason Morgan wasn't – he wasn't helpless but when it came to Elizabeth Webber and how much he loved and needed her he was just that – helpless.  
  
Jason gave Johnny a nod as he approached the door to Sonny's penthouse. He had had enough game playing with Sonny and was about to let him know that the second that Ric Lansing was found, half brother to Sonny or not, he was a dead man.  
  
"He's not home," Johnny said as though reading Jason's mind.  
  
"Where is he?"  
  
"He went to see Faith."  
  
Jason just shook his head. Sonny was still pursuing the wrong avenues and Jason knew in his heart that the man he once looked up to and thought of as almost father like was lost to him. It was time that Jason do what had to be done whether Sonny approved or not.


	42. Revisiting the Past

Second Chances: Revisiting the Past  
  
Elizabeth licked her dry lips feeling as though she had cotton stuffed in her mouth. She did her best to bring her hands to face yet her arms felt like lead weights and her head as if it was encased in a thick fog. Finally she forced her eyes open only to be greeted with distorted vision. Blinking several times her bleary eyes finally gave way to a clearer picture. It wasn't a picture that she had wanted to see. There was Ric watching her. It all came flooding back to her. The sweet smell of chloroform, the strong arms tugging at her from behind, the world going black around her. She stifled a cry at the back of throat as she wondered if this is how Carly must have felt waking up in the panic room Ric had so successfully hidden in the Lansing home. Elizabeth looked around once more trying to decide if that's where she was – the panic room. All the while Ric sat quietly starring at her.  
  
Suddenly Elizabeth knew exactly where she was. The faded images along the walls were a tell tell sign of a time from long ago. She remembered so vividly painting those pictures when she had stayed there with Lucky that summer. How she wanted to create the perfect world for them. A world where they could have been anywhere and done anything. That summer with Lucky was a special time in her life – a time when she never thought she could have been happier. Elizabeth looked around the boxcar again doing the best she could to avoid Ric's cold black eyes. His silence was unnerving as was the calculated look his face held. Her eyes were drawn to the right of the heavy sliding door. Embedded deep within the wooden floorboards she was still able to discern the faded stain of Jason's blood from years before.  
  
Elizabeth felt a shiver ran down her spine with the recollection of finding Jason bleeding in the snow. She could see the images as if they had just happened. How stubborn she had been about him letting her help him and how many nights she sat up in her studio watching him sleeping fearing the worst. It was during that time that Jason healed physically yet he helped her heal emotionally. His being injured forced Elizabeth out of the shell Lucky's death had dropped her in. She had to do things that she never thought she was able to. She reclaimed her life – she reclaimed soul and for that she would be forever thankful to Jason Morgan. Elizabeth closed her eyes and let herself think about Jason and wondered if she would ever see him again. She silenced another cry that hung in her throat not wanting to let herself succumb to her own fears.  
  
Somewhere while she had been lost in her memories of Lucky, Jason and what the boxcar represented to her for both of them Ric had begun speaking. As his voice grew louder Elizabeth was forced to concentrate on his irate ramblings. She watched him pace the floor of the boxcar and the occasional glint the sunlight peaking through the crack in the door cast off of the gun that hung loosely in his hand. Elizabeth pressed her body into the cold rusted metal of the wall as her fear got the better of her.  
  
"I know you love me Elizabeth," Ric said. "I know I have done some things that I am ashamed of." Elizabeth looked at him with disbelief in his eyes. There he stood talking as if he hadn't kidnapped Carly with the thoughts of killing her and passing her child off as his own. He made it sound as if his actions were something that should have been as easily forgiven as forgetting a special birthday or wedding anniversary. It amazed her how truly warped Ric's thinking actually was. "We would still be together if Jason and Sonny hadn't interfered. I could have made you understand that I did everything for you – for us to be happy. We could have had everything if my brother and his flunky would have just left us alone. We'd have the family we always wanted by now," Ric's voice took on the tone of a tortured cry. "I love you Elizabeth."  
  
"Then why are you doing this?" she finally asked when he fell silent.  
  
"You wouldn't talk to me any other way. And Jason has so many guards around you I couldn't even see you. I had to make you understand," he answered in desperation. Ric moved closer to where Elizabeth was crouch in the corner of the boxcar. Gently he stroked her cheek with his free hand. He was so lost in a world of his own making that he didn't even feel her recoil at his touch. "You have to know how much I love you Elizabeth. I know that if you would just listen to me you would understand what I did and why."  
  
"I don't think so, Ric," she said softly.  
  
"WHY!?" he yelled. "Why won't you just admit that you love me? Why won't you admit that we are meant to be together? Why?" Elizabeth tried again to back away from him as she watched the fury glowing behind his black orbs. "It's all Morgan's fault. He's poisoned your mind against me. He's made you think that I am the enemy. He's the enemy!"  
  
Elizabeth concentrated her stare on the crimson stain only several feet away. She let her mind center on that day. She focused her thoughts on all of the times after that they had spent together – good and bad as she did her best to not panic. She knew Jason would find her. He had always found her in the past. He had saved her so many times and he would save her again – she hoped.  
  
"What are you starring at?" Ric asked looking over his shoulder at the spot on the floor.  
  
"Nothing," Elizabeth eked out as she tucked away her memories.  
  
"No it's something. You've been starring at the floor for awhile now. What are you looking at?" Ric got up and walked across to the other side of the area bending down to get a closer look. It didn't look like anything important to him. It was nothing more than a large washed out red stain. Ric shook his head and moved back to where Elizabeth was now standing. She had taken advantage of the distance between them and had stood up.  
  
Ric starred at the woman who in his mind was still very much his wife. "Do you know how beautiful you are?" he asked. "You have a kind heart. You see the best in people. You saw the best in me. I was better when we were together. I love you Elizabeth. Just come away with me. We can start a new life somewhere far away from Port Charles – away from Sonny, Carly... ..."  
  
"And Jason?" Elizabeth finished his comment for him.  
  
"Yes and Morgan. I know he's poisoned you against me. He's the one responsible for us losing everything."  
  
Elizabeth had a sudden flash of anger that smothered her fear. She had had enough of Ric's version of the truth. "NO Ric it was you who's responsible for the mess you made of our lives. You made me stop loving you not Jason! Jason has always wanted what was best for me. Even when he lay there," she pointed to the spot she had been so intently starring at before, "bleeding to death from a gunshot wound, his thoughts were of me and my safety! It's Jason who loves me!"  
  
Ric's gaze toggled between what he now knew to be a bloodstain, Jason's blood, on the floor and Elizabeth's smug expression. Deep from within he felt rage swirl and grow from the pit of his stomach. No matter what he did or where he took her there was no escaping Jason Morgan. He was everywhere! In one swift action Ric had a handful of Elizabeth's chestnut hair and she was starring down the barrel of his pistol.  
  
Jason had been walking the streets of Port Charles well into the black of night checking in with Max and a few other of the men from time to time but there still hadn't been a single sighting of Elizabeth. The sun was now beginning its ascent into the morning sky and Jason was no closer to finding Elizabeth than he had been last night when he found Kelly's Diner empty.  
  
Finally he stood still for a moment and griped the lamppost just as the overhead light clicked off. He could feel each labored breath that passed though his body. He had gone to Elizabeth's studio, back to the Lansing house, to Jake's, even to Martha's Vineyard to the house where he had found Ric and Sonny all those months ago. He should have killed Ric that day. He should have wiped him from the face of the earth instead he had obeyed Sonny's wishes. He had let Sonny's half brother live. Now Jason was so wishing he hadn't done that. He had looked anywhere and everywhere he could think of but hadn't turned up a single clue as to where Ric had spirited Elizabeth away to.  
  
The controlled panic that Jason had been able to keep in check through it all was slowly being to ebb. His mind was nothing more than a scrambled jumbled mess of images of Elizabeth and what Ric had already done and could be doing to her now. Jason had let himself be deluded by the fact that Ric loved her and even as warped as Jason believed Ric's love to be that he wouldn't hurt her yet all of the sudden an overwhelming wave of fear consume him. It was that fear that propelled him from his resting- place. He couldn't explain it but deep down he knew that he had to find Elizabeth.  
  
Jason turned around just in time to see Lucky Spencer and Nikolas Cassadine coming towards him. He knew what the pair thought of him and more importantly thought about his relationship with Elizabeth but he couldn't let that stop him from approaching them. Finding her was all that mattered to him and what their opinion of him happened to be – well Jason could have cared less.  
  
"Jason," Lucky said in a controlled voice. He hadn't ever really gotten over the part Jason played in Elizabeth's life after he was presumed dead and hated that her life was in danger at every turn because of Sonny's enforcer.  
  
"Have either of you seen Ric Lansing?"  
  
"Ric Lansing?" Nikolas questioned curiously.  
  
"Yes, Ric Lansing. Have you seen him?" Jason pressed anxiously.  
  
"And if we have does that mean we won't be seeing him again?" Lucky said being very cocky.  
  
"Have you seen him?" Jason asked again.  
  
"Not since Emily's funeral," Nikolas said sensing that something was very wrong.  
  
"Damn!" Jason clenched his fists at his sides trying desperately to control his hysteria.  
  
"What's going on Jason?" Nikolas asked.  
  
"Why are you even talking to this guy?" Lucky questioned his brother. "Sonny's probably decided that he's finally had enough of his little brother and ordered Jason to eliminate him. Why the hell would you want to help him find him?"  
  
"So then you have seen him?" Jason's voice grew louder annoyed by Lucky's need to still play games with him.  
  
"I wouldn't tell you even if I had."  
  
Jason shook his head. Lucky was still Lucky when it came to not being able to see the bigger picture. "Not even if it will save Elizabeth's life?" Those words brought silence to the two men standing in front of Jason.  
  
"Elizabeth? What does this have to do with Elizabeth?" Nikolas questioned.  
  
"What's happened to her now because of you?" Lucky barked.  
  
"Have you seen Ric Lansing?"  
  
"No," Nikolas said again. "What's happened to Elizabeth?" he asked panic filling his own voice.  
  
"I swear to you Jason if anything's happened to Elizabeth I will come after you myself!" Lucky shouted. "She's been in danger since the day that she met you. Bombs in her studio, kidnapped to be used as leverage, shot at, she's never been safe around you. Why don't you leave her the hell alone?"  
  
Jason just stared at Lucky with his steel blue eyes. He didn't have time to be debating the merits of his relationship with Elizabeth nor did he want to. He turned on his heel and headed towards where his motorcycle sat at the curb leaving both Nikolas and Lucky calling after him.  
  
As he was just about to round the corner he ran squarely into Zander Smith. Again Jason was consumed by and eerie sense of déjà vu trying not think about the time that he and Zander begrudgingly worked together in an attempt to locate Elizabeth when she had been help captive in the crypt.  
  
"Sorry man," Zander said as he bounced off Jason's chest. "What's your hurry?" Zander knew how much Emily loved her brother and while they had never been friendly he felt he owed it to the woman that he loved to at least try to share the same space with Jason in a peaceable manner.  
  
Jason stared at the man that his little sister loved so much and there was a part of him that still wondered why. How had both Emily and Elizabeth seen something worthwhile in Zander Smith? All he had ever been able to see was a hot head who's loyalty shifted like the winds. "Get out of the way!" Jason barked he had already lost so much time arguing with Lucky and Nikolas he couldn't afford to do the same with Zander. And Jason knew from past experience that Zander would want to help. That was the last thing he needed.  
  
"What's going on Jason?" Zander assumed that the man before him hurried nature had something to do with Sonny – it always did. Sonny couldn't function without Jason and most of Port Charles knew that. There had been a time when Zander had wanted that task for himself. He wanted to be Sonny's right hand but now seeing the distress on Jason's face Zander was glad that part of his life was over.  
  
"Nothing I need your help with," Jason remarked as he started to walk away.  
  
"What's got you so frazzled man?" Zander asked again suddenly sensing that this had nothing at all to do with Sonny. When it came to Sonny, Jason was calm and collected and at the moment he was anything but those things.  
  
"Leave it alone Zander. I don't need your help nor can I afford it." Jason still hadn't been able to get passed all the trouble Zander had caused him when he had been trying to find Elizabeth when she had been kidnapped before. He had the same helpless feeling now as he had then only difference this time was that he knew who her captor was but that was little help in finding her.  
  
"This is about Elizabeth isn't it?" Zander too had a sudden flashback to their not so cooperative adventure into trying to locate Elizabeth many many months ago. "Who's trying to get at you through her this time?" he asked.  
  
"I don't have time for this shit, Zander." Jason looked down at his watch knowing that every minute that ticked off was another minute longer Ric had the woman he loved. "I don't need another lecture on how bad I am for Elizabeth." Jason let out a heavy sigh as he hung his head low.  
  
"That's not what I was going to say, man." Jason stared at the younger man with noticeable shock on his face. He had fully expected another diatribe of the evils he had brought into Elizabeth's life. "She loves you man. She always has. I knew it but I was too stupid or angry to see it. I wanted something that was yours. I wanted to take away from you what I thought you took from me. You swooped in and took my place with Sonny so I thought I could do the same thing with Elizabeth when it came to you. I was dead wrong. She loved you every minute that we tried to be together. Every conversation somehow came back to you and all that you had been to her."  
  
Jason was stunned silent. During that time when Elizabeth was drawn to Zander it had taken all he had to keep his distance. And now he was being told that she had spent the bulk of her time focused on him. All of it was crazy. The years they spent circling one another – all that time wasted. It only made him more determined to find her.  
  
"She told me about your first meeting at Jake's. How you rescued her from some ass. She talked endless about the rides you would take her on your motorcycle. I envied you man. She loved you completely. She told me about finding you shot and bleeding in the snow and how you told her to stay away but she wouldn't and that she came back to help you.... ...."  
  
As Zander continued to ramble his words struck and idea in Jason's mind. A place that it hadn't even occurred to him to look for Elizabeth. It wasn't a place that he had thought Ric would have even known about – the boxcar.  
  
Zander looked up to see Jason striding down the sidewalk to his motorcycle. "Hey where are you going?" The question was left unanswered as Jason sped away from the curb. 


	43. Blood Brothers

  
  
Second Chances: Blood Brothers  
  
Jason sped through the streets of Port Charles finally having a clear destination in his sights. Why it had taken Zander of all people to remind him of the boxcar he still hadn't a clue but that really didn't matter anymore. He could feel it. He knew where Elizabeth was. As he felt the hum of the engine beneath him Jason's mind focused on the boxcar and all it represented for not just him but Elizabeth as well. He recalled their conversations about that large metal structure in the middle of nowhere. He remembered how Elizabeth told him how Lucky had lived there and she painted the walls to represent how she saw their lives. His memories of that summer when he and she became friends and so much more filled every inch of him as he kept a steady pace to his target.  
  
As he approached the boxcar, Jason cut the engine to his motorcycle and slowly rolled to a stop at the edge of the woods just before the path that led down to the tracks. He stashed his bike in a thicket. The last thing he needed was to tip Lansing off of his presence. In the distance Jason could see the top of the old rusted boxcar. He made his way toward it choosing to stay in the cover of the brush rather than the open space of the dirt path. He thought about the last time he had been out to this place. There had been snow on the ground – snow tainted with his blood. To this day Jason still had no idea what made him go to the boxcar when he had been shot by Moreno's men. He wasn't sure if it was his dazed and confused state of mind or maybe something more. Perhaps it was fate's way of bringing him and Elizabeth together in such a manner that had lead them to where they were today. Jason didn't know nor did he care at this point. All he needed was to get Elizabeth and to kill Ric.  
  
Killing Ric Lansing would give him more pleasure than Jason ever imagined was possible. Never before had he ever felt the need to remove someone from this earth the way he did Ric. Jason struggled with the inner voices that were warring inside his head. One was that of the cool collected enforcer he was supposed to be and the other was that of the man who loved a woman so desperately he would do anything to save her. As he got closer to the boxcar he could see over the years the fade graffiti had been replaced with new markings mixing the color to the point where none of the images were discernable. Jason moved around the side of the structure careful not to make a sound. It was then that he heard Ric's booming voice ranting and raving yet he couldn't make out the words. He resisted the urge to barge in first thinking that a surprise attack would be his best defense against the wacko Lansing was but it was that thought that also held Jason back. It was obvious that Ric was far from stable and maybe startling him was the quickest way for Elizabeth to end up hurt or worse. So he stood silent rethinking his next move.  
  
Jason pressed his back against the outside walls of the boxcar as he slid his body around to the front. He could see the heavy door was partially open. He could hear his erratic heart beat resounding in his ears. Jason felt the hairs on his arms stand on end as if he was standing in the cold rather then the warm sunshine. Again he wrestled with how to handle this all. Normally there was no thought process for Jason. He had a job to do and he did it without question but adding Elizabeth's life to the mix again caused his mind to spin out of control. He took a deep breath and focused his attention to the inside of the boxcar. The sun overhead made it hard to see what was going on inside but when he shaded his clear blue eyes the sight of Elizabeth crouched in the corner came into view. Finally Jason was able to breathe again. There she was unharmed except for the trauma that Ric put her through by kidnapping her. In some odd way though Jason thought this time it had to be a little easier for her. Yes there was the fear of what Ric would or wouldn't do to her but he had brought her to a place that at one time she had felt safe and loved. Jason only hoped that that had eased her anxieties even just a little.  
  
Elizabeth pushed back away from Ric as far as the walls that met in the corner would allow. She saw the fire in his eyes as she stared down the barrel of his pistol and contemplated if he would really shoot her. She looked around the wooden floor in search of something – anything she could have used as a weapon against him. She wasn't about to go down without a fight. As her eyes probed her surroundings it was then that she saw him – Jason. There he was standing outside the boxcar. She blinked her eyes several times half expecting him to be nothing more than a mirage and be gone again the next time she looked. But he wasn't. He was still standing there. Her heart quickened realizing that soon this nightmare would be over. Jason was there and he would save her like he had so many times in the past. The only difference this time was that what had happened to her hadn't been Jason's fault or in any way tied to his business with Sonny. This was all about what she had done by letting Ric Lansing into her life.  
  
Ric suddenly stopped rambling when he again took notice of Elizabeth's intent stare. The anger that welled in him was palpable and he turned quickly and his black eyes met the cold hard stare of Jason Morgan's icy ones. It was at that precise moment that Jason took notice of the gun that hung loosely in Ric's hand. Without giving Ric time to react Jason leapt into the boxcar and tackled him to the ground. Liz's frantic cries and pleadings fill the stale air of the boxcar as the two men struggled on the ground before her. She watched Jason get in several good punches that left Ric reeling yet didn't stop him from fighting until suddenly the sound of gunfire reverberated off the tin walls – then there was an eerie silence.  
  
Elizabeth's eyes widened at the sight to the blood that poured from Jason's arm and pooled around him. Her mouth suddenly went dry and she was unable to speak. There she stood mesmerized while Jason lay in almost the exact same spot he had years before. The logical part of her brain knew that Jason is going into shock. She could see the beads of sweat already forming on his forehead and how sallow his complexion had become. It was obvious to her that Jason was desperately trying to stay focused but he was losing that battle quickly. "Jason!" she cried as he stumbled again and fell hard against the clapboard floor.  
  
Without a single thought to her own safety or the gun that Ric still had trained on Sonny's enforcer, Elizabeth rushed past him in an attempt to get to Jason. "Oh no you don't!" Ric sneered grabbing Elizabeth firmly by the waist as she struggled against his grasp. He took pleasure in the anguish cries he heard escaping her lips as he forced her to watch the crimson circle of blood puddle around her lover. Ric chuckled to himself enjoying the show laid out before him. The invincible Jason struck down for his love of a woman. Watching him lay there virtually bleeding to death a person would wonder how he had gotten the reputation for being unstoppable.  
  
"Jason!" she shouted again hoping that her voice would pull him back from the edge. "Jason, open your eyes! Look at me!" she commanded just as he had done for her the time that Zander shot her in the arm but by the looks of the blood flowing profusely from Jason's arm – this wasn't merely a flush wound as hers had been. "Jason you have to stay awake. Concentrate on the sound of my voice." Again she wiggled trying desperately to get to where Jason lay.  
  
"Give it up he can't even hear you!" Ric laughed yet there wasn't a trace of humor to the sound. Actually the laughter had an eerie ring to it almost sardonic. All he had ever wanted was for her to fight as hard for him as she was for Jason. Even now when he was basically dying before them he still had Elizabeth's heart and that killed Ric.  
  
"You're a monster!" Elizabeth turned and spit in Ric's face. "If you think that this will make me love you it won't!" she screamed having lost all sense of reason. "I hate you Ric. I hate everything about you!"  
  
Those words stung him and for a moment he almost loosened his hold on her but again his rage took hold and he whipped her around to face him. He dug his fingers into the soft flesh of her arms. She winced under the pressure but wasn't about to let him see that. All of the sudden Ric was seeing images of Jason and Elizabeth having sex on the tiny couch in her studio. His brain was bombarded by those vivid images. They physically controlled him to the point of madness. "I love you," he stated as if those words held any meaning for them now.  
  
Elizabeth was repulsed by the very thought of that. "You don't even know what love is Ric!"  
  
"But he does?" He pointed to where Jason lay on the floor.  
  
"Yes," Elizabeth hiccuped trying to hold back the tears that threatened to fall onto her cheeks. She was losing him. She could feel it. With a sudden burst of new found strength fueled by desperation and fear she gave Ric a swift kick and while he was trying to recover she dove at Jason's lifeless body. "Jason – Jason," she cried as his blood soaked her clothes. "I love you. Please don't leave me." He moaned softly at the sound of her voice. "That's it stay with me. Come on baby stay with me."  
  
"You ungrateful bitch!" Ric wailed as he ripped her from Jason's side. "I love you. I give you everything and this is how you treat me. Like I am some piece of garbage you can discard when you see fit. And for what the likes of him?" Ric sounded revolted by the very thought of that. "I don't think so!"  
  
Abruptly Ric pulled her into a hard kiss his mouth angrily devouring hers as he ripped at the thin layer of clothes that covered her body. Immediately Elizabeth was thrown back to a time when she was sixteen and another man thought that she was his for the taking. All of her survival instincts kicked in and she started thrashing wildly looking for any means of escape. Her refusal to cooperate angered and frustrated Ric all the more. His rage getting the better of him Ric punched her square in the jaw. "If you can give it up for that brain damaged animal you can surely do it for the man that loves you!" Ric's voice boomed before his mouth captured hers hard again. He forced his tongue deep into her throat almost gagging her.  
  
Ric pushed her to the ground positioning his body on top of hers. "Don't do this! Please don't do this!" she begged having lost the fight she once had. The idea of being raped again had her retreating to another place and time. When all Ric did was laugh at her request she began screaming like a wild animal caught in a trap.  
  
Sonny weaved his way through the tree limbs until he came upon the path that lead to the boxcar. He too hadn't thought about this place in years and wondered how on earth Ric had even found it. He would certainly be shocked to find out his hiding place wasn't so well hidden. It was then that he heard the shrill cries and screams in the distance. Those sounds quickened his pace and until he was only feet away did he realize that they were cries from Elizabeth Webber. At that revelation Sonny went on a full tilt run until he was standing before the open door of the boxcar. The sight before him momentarily held him captive. There was Elizabeth half naked and pinned under Ric's body. The anger that Sonny felt at that sight consumed him as he jumped into the metal structure startling his half brother just in time for his goal to go unachieved. "RIC!!!" Sonny's enraged voice bounced off the walls.  
  
The soft moan from the corner where Jason was readily caught Ric's attention. His gaze toggled between Jason and Sonny then back to Elizabeth. He felt like a rat in a trap but that didn't stop him. He turned the gun he was holding on Jason as he heard Elizabeth gasp below him. "Well it looks like you have arrived just in time brother – just in time for you both to watch while I kill your loyal soldier," he pointed to Sonny. "and your lover!" He turned to Elizabeth now.  
  
Elizabeth's eyes followed the line of Ric's gun. The barrel was centered directly at Jason's heart and she knew it. She had just one chance to stop him and she had to take it. With all the force her tiny frame could muster she knocked Ric off balance sending the gun he was holding skating across the uneven floor. Ric scrambled to regain his weapon – the thing he considered his edge in all of this but just as his fingers grazed the cold metal he felt the bullet pierce his chest before he ever heard the sound of the shot. There standing over him gun drawn was his brother, Adella's other son. The man he expected to never act against him because of his love for the mother they shared had shot him point blank. The last thing Ric saw before he closed his eyes for the final time was Sonny's blank stare.  
  
Jason forced his eyes open yet that only brought him blurred vision with no real sense of what or who was around him. The searing pain in his arm throbbed and he tried to clear the fog that enclosed his weary brain. He tried to make his body move but it was unwilling to comply with his orders. He could hear Elizabeth crying – screaming but nothing he did enabled him to get up and help her. He groaned again finally demanding his bleary eyes to focus. They agreed just enough for him to make out the image of Sonny standing in the boxcar shooting Ric. Jason wasn't sure if it was reality or just some fantasy he had been wishing on so long to happen but he averted his gaze to Ric's crumpled body lying on the floor. It certainly appeared to even Jason's hazy brain that Sonny had finally done what Jason had wanted him to do from the very start – he had killed his brother, killed Ric Lansing.  
  
Sonny whipped out his cell phone as Elizabeth scrambled passed Ric's body in an effort to get to Jason. She heard Sonny's voice as he called for an ambulance yet all she could focus on was Jason. Now that she was so close to him she could see the massive blood loss he had suffered. She rested her fingers on his neck. He barely had a detectable pulse. Slowly she began to weep. "Don't leave me Jason. You can't leave me," she sobbed. She felt something around her shoulders and realized that Sonny had placed his suit jacket around her half-naked frame. "I love you Jason. I'm not letting you go that easily. Please don't leave me."  
  
Sonny stood wondering if Jason could hear Elizabeth's voice. If her soft pleadings would bring him back from the brink the way that Carly's always seemed to do for him. "Elizabeth." Jason's raspy voice was the answer to that question. "I love you," he whispered before slipping unconscious again.  
  
Elizabeth lifted her head and her tear filled eyes met Sonny's. The unspoken question hung between them both. Would Jason make it this time or had Ric been successful in killing his adversary after all?  
  
A week later......  
  
Elizabeth draped her arm around Jason's waist as they exited the elevator on the penthouse floor of Harbor View Towers. "I'm not an invalid you know," he laughed even though he enjoyed every minute of her closeness.  
  
Elizabeth hadn't left his side the entire time he had been in the hospital. It had turned out that the bullet Ric fired had pierced a major artery in his arm. They had almost lost him twice on the operating table. As soon as Elizabeth was told by Monica and Alan that he would make a full recovery but would be weak from the substantial blood loss she had been relieved but made it her personal mission to see that he regained his strength.  
  
"I know," she smiled. "Would you like me to move?" she asked slipping her arm from its resting-place.  
  
"No!" he laughed again as he moved it back to where it had been. "I just don't need to be babied. Monica said I am fine. No lasting effects just need to get my strength back in this arm." Jason looked at the jagged scar that sliced through his bicep.  
  
Max gave Jason a nod to show that all was ready for their arrival as Elizabeth slipped the key in the lock. "You go rest on the sofa and I'll see if I can find something in the frig to make us to eat," She said absently laying the keys on Jason's desk. "Are you okay?" she queried him when he remained standing in the doorway with Max at his back. "Jason?" she questioned again concern creeping into her voice. "I told Monica it was too soon to release you. Does something hurt? Do you feel faint again?" she asked recalling how Jason thought a day after surgery he would try to walk the halls of General Hospital and nearly collapsed just getting out of the bed.  
  
Jason laughed softly at the mother hen she had become since his accident. It was reminiscent of those early days in her studio when she helped him recover from another gunshot wound. "What?" Elizabeth stared at him quizzically unable to gauge what he was thinking. "What?" she said again with a more anxious tone.  
  
Without a word Jason turned her around so that she was facing the fireplace that stood across from them. It was then she saw it. He felt her suck in a deep breath, as her eyes were fixated on the mantel. "How – where did you find that?"  
  
"It's not important," he answered.  
  
Elizabeth moved forward and reached for her, no their, painting of 'The Wind' that rested on the thick wooden ledge. Her fingers traced the vivid colors and she was consumed by the emotions that had caused her to paint it in the first place. She smiled as she felt his arms come to encircle her waist. "Do you remember when I first showed you this?" she asked looking up at him.  
  
"Yes and I remember how disappointed you were with my initial response."  
  
"I was wasn't I?"  
  
"Oh yeah! But then you explained it to me and I got it – every detail. As you described it the images came to life." Jason grinned thinking about that day on the docks all over again. "You gave it to me that day and ... ..."  
  
"And you gave it back to me," she interrupted him.  
  
"I explained that. It was kind of a tough thing to carry on the back of my bike," he laughed. "I told you it was a gift I had to come back for."  
  
"Uh-huh." Elizabeth returned the painting to the mantle as a chill ran down her spine looking at it again.  
  
"Do you like it there or do you want it hung somewhere else?" he asked.  
  
"There's fine." She admired her work thinking that that was the one painting she had ever truly felt had been any good.  
  
"I have something else for you." At those words Max came forward and handed her an envelope then quietly slipped back out the door.  
  
"What's this?" Elizabeth eyed the wrapper curiously.  
  
"Open it," Jason urged.  
  
"Okay." She slipped her fingers under the flap and easily pulled out a sleeve with the local airline's insignia on it. Again her eyes searched his for some clue what this was all about.  
  
"Go on read them," he continued.  
  
Elizabeth did as instructed and opened up the packet to reveal two open ended plane tickets to Italy. She gasped reading the destination over again. "Italy? We are going to Italy?"  
  
"Yes." He felt a wide smile that matched the one Elizabeth was now wearing creep across his face. "Do you like that idea?"  
  
"I love that idea!" she squealed throwing her arms around his neck.  
  
"I wanted to be the first person you saw the lights over Italy with," he said again remembering when he had returned to Port Charles that first time and her asking him if he had gone to Italy and how much she wanted to see the lights there.  
  
"What about Sonny?" Elizabeth questioned cautiously. During his week in the hospital Sonny and Carly had been to see Jason several times but something told her that very little had been resolved between the two men.  
  
"What about him?" Jason returned curtly.  
  
"Won't he need you?" She had grown so accustomed to Sonny being a part of their existence she wasn't sure how to react.  
  
"I need a break."  
  
Elizabeth reached for his hands and tugged at them gently. The events leading up to Ric's ultimate demise had worn Jason out considerably. His continual battles with Sonny and Sonny's unyielding behavior towards Jason had taken their toll on what once was a solid friendship "Yes you do," she agreed with him. "I would love to go to Italy with you Jason."  
  
"Then go pack. If you look closely we leave tonight," he smiled broadly as her eyes went to the departure date.  
  
"How did you know you'd be out of the hospital?"  
  
"Alan's the chief of staff don't you think I have a little pull?" he laughed.  
  
"Are you sure you are up for the trip?" Elizabeth ran her hand across his cheek trying not to think how close she came to losing him.  
  
"Stop worrying. Monica and Alan told me I needed to get my strength back. I can't think of a better way to do that than being with you in Italy. Just grab a few things we can get the rest of what we need when we get there."  
  
Once more Elizabeth squealed as she started for the stairs but stopped and ran back to where Jason stood. "I love you Jason Morgan!" she whispered as she kissed him softly on the lips.  
  
"And I love you Elizabeth Webber. Now go before we miss our plane."  
  
He watched her disappear up the stairs and let out a happy sigh. She may not have left Port Charles with him all those years ago when he had asked her and maybe that's the way it was supposed to be but all Jason knew now was that this time around he was never going to let her go. 


	44. The Lights Over Italy

Well here's the final chapter of this story. I hope you all have found it interesting and thanks to you all who have left me great reviews. I feed off of all of your comments. Thanks again.

Lisa

Second Chances: The Lights Over Italy Four months later... ... 

Jason stood on the terrace of the villa he had rented for him and Elizabeth while they spent their time exploring all Italy had to offer. They had spent the last several months seeking out all the galleries Elizabeth wanted to see. They spent a week in the wine country and much to his own surprise Elizabeth had him stomping grapes with her. That image still brought a smile to lips. They had taken long motorcycle rides through many of the rural areas and he loved to sit and watch Elizabeth sketch the surroundings. It was difficult for him not to think about all they had gone through – all that Ric had put them through. He so desperately wanted to be able to just forget about it and normally he could. He wasn't one for looking back especially on things there was nothing you could do to change yet now he found himself doing just that – looking back.

He gazed out over the Italian countryside as the blazing orange sun decorated in hues of red, amber and purple made its decent behind the rolling hills. Through the half open French doors he could hear Elizabeth chatting away on the phone to Carly. They did that a lot now. It still amazed him that somewhere along the line Elizabeth and Carly had become friends. Who would have thought ever that pair would have seen eye to eye on anything especially Elizabeth's fitness to be Jason's girlfriend? Even though Jason knew that the term girlfriend in no way described all that Elizabeth meant to him.

Carly and Sonny's second child had been born two months ago without complication and it saddened Jason a little to know that he had missed it. He knew what that child meant to them and all that they had gone through to have him. As much as he wanted to be a part of this new baby's life there was a part of him that wasn't quite ready to go back to Port Charles and pick up where he had left off. He and Sonny had had several strained conversations while he and Elizabeth had been in Italy but nothing more than that. Jason wasn't sure if he would ever be able to look at Sonny as he once had.

Elizabeth hung up the phone and crossed the expansive living room. She pulled back the gaze fabric that hung across the open doorway as it danced in the early evening breeze. She stopped and stared at Jason – the man that she loved with all she had. Elizabeth wondered if this was what it would have been like if she had gone away with him that first time he had asked her to. Would he have been as free spirited then as he was with her now or was it all that they had been through that had brought out the carefree side he let her see now. She giggled recalling how she threatened him with taking photos of him and sending them back to Max as he stood in a large barrel full of grapes He ended up tackling her to the ground tickling her until she swore to never speak of the vineyards again. In the end for good measure Jason removed the film from her camera destroying any and all evidence. He had willing followed her to every museum and gallery she wanted to visit without so much a single moan even though he couldn't really see the paintings she was showing him. Elizabeth had never been able to tell him a painting as good as she had her painting of 'The Wind'.

The day the call came from Max that Carly had gone into labor for real this time Elizabeth noticed a change in Jason's demeanor. Up until then they had been able to skirt the issues of Sonny and what had happened in Port Charles. Yet knowing that another Corinthos life had entered the world made thoughts of Port Charles, even unspoken ones, glaringly obvious. Elizabeth's eyes rested on Jason's still frame and she could tell by the way his body was slumped over the stone railing of the balcony he was deep in thought. He had been doing that a lot lately. She tried not to push or pry but Elizabeth knew it was about time that they talked about where they were going to go from here – and more importantly they needed to talk about Sonny. "That was Carly on the phone," she said slipping quietly behind him.

"How are she and the baby doing?" he asked.

"Morgan is wonderful." Elizabeth watched Jason's expression when she mentioned the child's given name. Carly had insisted on naming the little boy in honor of Jason – their best friend. If the circumstances had been different Jason might had thrilled to be the child's namesake but to him now all it felt like was pressure for him to return to a friendship he didn't know existed anymore. "Carly and Sonny are having him baptized next week. Carly asked me to be his godmother..." Elizabeth hesitated for a moment. "...and Sonny would like you to be his godfather."

Jason hung his head low and let out a heavy sigh. Instantly Elizabeth ran her hands over the taut muscles in his back. He loved how it felt when she touched him and often more times than not it eased the tension away but the idea of being Morgan's godfather and having to deal with Sonny was something that even Elizabeth's touch couldn't erase. "What did you say to Carly?" he asked quietly.

"I told her that I would talk to you and get back to her. Is being Morgan's godfather something you don't want to do?"

"No...yes....honestly I don't know," he groaned almost angry with himself for his indecision. "Do you want to be his godmother?" Jason turned the question back on her.

"Yes...yes I think that I would." Elizabeth smiled thinking about Carly going into premature labor and again about the shopping spree she and Carly had taken that day at Wyndam's Department store. Her answer didn't surprise him but it didn't lend itself in his favor. "Jason," she stroked his back gently. "Don't you think it's time we talked about Sonny?"

"There's nothing to talk about," he stated.

"That's not true. I know that you are still angry with him and really you have every right to be but don't spite yourself with that anger."

"What?" Jason was confused by her statement.

"I know how much you love Michael and in turn what you mean to that little boy. Don't you think that Morgan deserves the same from you? He shouldn't be held accountable for the sins of his father. Morgan is an innocent who deserves the best Jason Morgan has to offer." Elizabeth smiled softly admiring the loving man standing before her.

"I don't know if I'm ready...."

"Ready for what?" she cut him off, "to face Sonny or to face trying to repair your friendship?"

"I don't know if we can." Jason's pained expression ripped through Elizabeth's heart. She knew better than anyone what Sonny had meant to Jason and how much it hurt him that his mentor hadn't seen a clear picture of what was going on around him even if he had come through for them in the end.

"Do you want to repair it?" she asked a very poignant question.

Jason looked away not sure of how to answer that question. If he were very honest with himself the answer would be a resounding yes. He wanted his friendship with Sonny the way it had been before Ric had literally burned it to the ground and hell maybe in the end Ric had gotten what he wanted. He hated Jason's relationship with Sonny and now because of him it had been forever altered. But the logical rational side of Jason knew that too much damage had been done for either man to ever feel the way they once had about one another. "I'd like to," he admitted honestly.

"Then let's take that first step," she urged. "Let's go to the baptism and pledge our support to Morgan. I don't expect you and Sonny to ever be the same. I don't think that you could be, but he did save both of us that day in the boxcar. Yes – yes I know," she said just as Jason was about to open his mouth in protest. "it was Sonny who ultimately let things escalate to the point that they did but honestly Jason, Sonny wasn't responsible for Ric's madness and you can't fault Sonny for the loyalty he felt to his own mother. You know better than anyone the guilt Sonny carries around about Adella."

"How can you be so forgiving?" Jason asked in complete astonishment.

"I don't know. I guess I just think that you shouldn't throw away all your years of friendship over one lapse in judgment on Sonny's part. In the end Sonny has to deal with killing his blood brother to save his true brother and that's you Jason. Like it or not you and Sonny are family and in the end we forgive family."

Jason pulled Elizabeth into a tight embrace. "I love you Elizabeth Webber."

"And I love you. I just don't want to see you unhappy. Your job's a part of you as much as Carly's children are and I don't think you should ignore that."

"You really want to go back to Port Charles?"

"I think it's time," she answered. "I think it's time we showed all those who never thought we were meant to be together that we are. We need to show them that we are stronger together than apart. Hell if we can change Carly's mind about us I'm pretty sure that we can change anyone's." Elizabeth laughed.

"When's Morgan's baptism?"

"This Sunday."

"I'll make the arrangements."

"Carly said she would sent the jet... ..."

"No, I'll handle our getting to Port Charles," Jason said. He may have been going back but he wasn't ready to fall back into the way things once were. He would always be Sonny's enforcer and always protect Sonny's family but for now that's all he could manage.

"Okay. Can I tell her that we will be there and will be Morgan's godparents?" Elizabeth asked tentatively.

"Yes," Jason smiled as he watched her grin back at him.

He picked up the phone as he looked on as Elizabeth bounded up the stairs and began gathering their things for their return to Port Charles. It still amazed him daily what he had ever done to deserve her – but in the end he just decided to give up trying.


End file.
